insert_link World Russia’s Putin removes defence Minister Russian President Vladimir Putin has removed Sergei Shoigu as the country's defence minister. He's being moved to a role as secretary of Russia's Security Council. Editor of the Atlantic Council's Ukraine Alert blog in Kyiv - Peter Dickinson - says it may show Russia is expecting a lengthy conflict. todayMay 13, 2024 10
insert_link World Putin’s Russia: first arrests under new anti-LGBT laws mark new era of repression By Sergey Katsuba, University College Dublin Just over three decades after Russia decriminalised homosexuality in 1993, three people have been arrested and charged under the country’s harsh new anti-LGBT laws and could face ten years in prison for membership of an “extremist organisation”. The arrests are a clear indication of how Russia has come full circle on its persecution of sexual minorities under Vladimir Putin. On March […] todayApril 10, 2024 8
insert_link World The West can’t ‘solve’ its Russia problem. Here’s how it should handle 6 more years of Vladimir Putin By Peter Tesch, Australian National University In perhaps the least surprising news of the year, Vladimir Putin has triumphed at the Russian ballot box and been enthroned for the fifth time as president. He will serve for six more years. He will be 77 years old in 2030. According to the constitution, which he re-wrote to his benefit in 2020, he then could stand again for a further […] todayMarch 20, 2024 9
insert_link World Vladimir Putin’s gold strategy explains why sanctions against Russia have failed By Robert Huish, Dalhousie University There are more than 16,000 sanctions imposed against Russia. Yet the Russian economy and war machine grew by 3.6 per cent in 2023 and is projected to grow another 2.6 per cent in 2024. Nearly six per cent of Russia’s gross domestic product goes towards military spending. At a time when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scrambling to acquire arms, funds and […] todayMarch 19, 2024 3
insert_link World Ukraine war: ten years after Putin annexed Crimea, Russia’s grip on the peninsula looks shaky By Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham It is ten years since Russia illegally annexed Crimea on March 18 2014. Subsequent efforts to firmly integrate the peninsula into the Russian Federation, however, have been far from the success story that the Kremlin often likes to portray. In fact, comparing the increasingly shaky grip that Moscow has on the peninsula today with the situation before the annexation would suggest […] todayMarch 18, 2024 1
insert_link Videos Six more years: Putin claims landslide election victory in Russia Vladimir Putin has won a fifth term as president in a landslide election victory that had an all but certain outcome. Russia's number one faced no credible opposition candidates, amid a ruthless crackdown on dissent and critical voices. Russian election officials said Putin - who will now serve another six-year term on top of his nearly quarter-century rule - won more than 87% of the vote. Putin claimed Russia's democratic […] todayMarch 18, 2024 12
insert_link World How conspiracy theories help to maintain Vladimir Putin’s grip on power in Russia By Gemma Ware, The Conversation As Russians head to the polls on March 15 for the presidential election, conspiracy theories are swirling everywhere. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to a disinformation expert about the central role these theories play in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. As soon as the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in a Siberian penal colony was announced in February, […] todayMarch 15, 2024 10
insert_link World Russian elections: despite fixing the opposition, Vladimir Putin wants lots of people to vote for him By Natasha Lindstaedt, University of Essex Russians head to the polls this week in a presidential election that will almost certainly result in Vladimir Putin decisively winning yet another six-year term. When he does, it will make him the longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin. Advance polling indicates he will earn 75% of the vote and face little or no meaningful opposition. His three main opponents are each […] todayMarch 14, 2024 7
insert_link World 3 things to watch for in Russia’s presidential election – other than Putin’s win, that is By Adam Lenton, Wake Forest University Russians will vote in a presidential election from March 15-17, 2024, and are all but guaranteed to hand Vladimir Putin a comfortable victory, paving the way for him to remain in power until at least 2030. While the result may be a foregone conclusion, the election offers an important glimpse into the Kremlin’s domestic challenges as it continues a war against […] todayMarch 14, 2024 4
Paying it forward: Kenyan coastal doctor Bashrahil Mohammed Mafudh has made it his life’s work to care for the most vulnerable in his community, at no cost.
