Section: The Guardian (The United Kingdom)
Caught between Russia and the US? The curious case of Ukraine’s Dmytro Firtash
Critics say the oligarch now living in exile pushed Putin’s agenda during Maidan revolution while a US arrest warrant appeared politically motivatedIn a suite of grand rooms inside a Habsburg-era building in Vienna that bristles with security, Dmytro Firtash sips a cup of tea and speaks quietly but deliberately about Ukraine, the country of...
Ukrainian oligarchs settle mine dispute worth billions out of court
Victor Pinchuk reaches deal with Gennadiy Bogolyubov and Igor Kolomoisky before London trial, over rights to iron ore facility he says he paid £100m forA £1.3bn dispute between three Ukrainian oligarchs – one of whom is a major donor to Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation – has been settled out of court just three days before a...
Crimeans still pleased by Ukraine split – but want love from Russia
Nearly two years on, Crimea basks in its freedom from Ukraine, but Russian relations aren’t as rosy as many would likeOleg Zubkov was such a big supporter of the Russian seizure of Crimea that he promised to set his lions on any Ukrainian nationalists who attempted to enter the peninsula. An eccentric businessman who built and runs the two...
Celebrating the Malanka winter festival – in pictures
Villagers in Krasnoilsk, western Ukraine, celebrate Malanka, the old New Year’s Eve. According to the Julian calendar it falls on 13 January, and is marked with two days of festivities to symbolise the release of spring … …read more Source: The...
Perimeter protection business booms in tandem with Europe’s refugee crisis
Many of the security systems at the perimeter protection trade fair, previously the preserve of protective states, are now being deployed in homesAnyone who steps unwanted over the threshold of a property with a Peperosso atomiser installed can expect an immediate burning sensation as chilli paprika is sprayed in their face. The instruction...
Death of a Russian teenager who opposed the war in Ukraine
Vlad Kolesnikov was humiliated and bullied after wearing a protest T-shirt to school. In messages sent before his death, he said his life had become unbearable Vlad’s last message came on 25 December, right after Christmas lunch as my children were running out the door for an afternoon walk.“If I don’t get in touch in the next 2-6...
Sydney travel firm offering Crimea tour accused of ‘selling out’ to MH17 accused
Sydney-based Gateway Travel defends plans to take tourists on excursions around Crimea, saying ‘tough luck if the Ukrainian government doesn’t like it’An Australian travel company has been accused of “selling out” to those blamed for the shooting down of flight MH17 after announcing plans to organise tours of Crimea, which was annexed...
Sydney travel firm offering Crimea tour accused of ‘selling out’ to MH17 accused
Sydney-based Gateway Travel defends plans to take tourists on excursions around Crimea, saying ‘tough luck if the Ukrainian government doesn’t like it’An Australian travel company has been accused of “selling out” to those blamed for the shooting down of flight MH17 after announcing plans to organise tours of Crimea, which was annexed...
Mail-order brides: old practice still seen as new chance for a better life – for some
An industry that dates back to 1614 in the US, mail-order marriages continue to be popular for women living in bleak conditions abroad, and US blue-collar men Vitalina Wilson had never planned to marry a foreign man whose language she did not speak. Nor did she plan to move 6,000 miles away from her family to a country she knew nothing about. She...
Crimea children’s theatre forced to shut for ‘promoting western propaganda’
Popular drama school complains of harassment from local officials who accused them of championing Ukrainian nationalism. RFE/RL reportsA popular children’s drama school that staged Ukrainian-language plays in Crimea is shutting down after what its founders describe as a campaign of harassment from local officials. Svitanok (Sunrise) taught...
