Section: The Huffington Post (USA)
Putin’s Balance of Power Strategy in Syria
With the Syrian cease fire tenuously holding, and UN-brokered negotiations underway in Geneva, President Putin’s surprise partial withdrawal of forces makes it clear that the Russian establishment has not forgotten the lessons of the Afghanistan quagmire. After almost six months of heavy bombardment, the rebels are weakened and government...
Jury Rigging of Competitions Is So Rife That It’s Funny in the Former Soviet Union
Image: Court. Stock Photo. Pixabay.com It’s no secret that corruption is rampant in most countries in the former Soviet Union. What usually comes to mind when we think of such graft is monetary gain: an official getting a bribe in return for his signature on a building permit, for example. But corruption in the region doesn’t always...
Jury Rigging of Competitions Is So Rife That It’s Funny in the Former Soviet Union
Image: Court. Stock Photo. Pixabay.com It’s no secret that corruption is rampant in most countries in the former Soviet Union. What usually comes to mind when we think of such graft is monetary gain: an official getting a bribe in return for his signature on a building permit, for example. But corruption in the region doesn’t always...
European Enlightenment and Humanism in Danger: Refugee Crisis
As the number of refugees worldwide continues to increase, Western nations struggle to show off their true humanism and the Enlightenment in the face of massive movements of desperate people. Making matters worse, certain politicians and several news organizations and groups continue to make harsh and disparaging comments about refugees. This...
Putin Ally Says NATO Focus On Russia Made Brussels Attacks Possible
A prominent Russian official accused the Brussels-based NATO of neglecting its home turf to antagonize Russia instead, leaving the Belgian city vulnerable to Tuesday’s terror attacks.Alexey Pushkov, head of Russia’s parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, said on Twitter that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was enabling...
The Russian Putt
Via Economicnoise Vladimir Putin recently announced that he would be largely withdrawing from Syria. There was however, no complete “mission accomplished” but there is no denying that the Russians have done a lot better than the Americans. Russia has been strategic, while the USA has been a little reckless. The United States has...
The Strategic Constants Behind the Russian Withdrawal
The strategic constants in the wake of Russia’s military redeployment out of Syria include the following: First, the continuation of the US-Russian partnership in the Syrian arena, and its expansion into Yemen and Iraq where the remaining time Barack Obama has in the White House will be used to consolidate achievements in bilateral...
Hopes of Religious Freedom in Former Soviet Union Fall Short
Image: Stock Photo. FreeImages.com Early in its existence, the Soviet Union turned Vladimir Lenin’s dictum that “religion is the opium of the people” into official policy. Atheism was what Lenin wanted for the Soviet empire, and it’s what it got. Assuring such an outcome were laws discouraging faith — such as...
Weekend Roundup: Putin’s Drawdown Is as Much About World Order as About Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s surprise announcement this week of a withdrawal of some forces from Syria has put an end to the narrative that Russia was bound to be trapped in a Mideast quagmire. Whether in Ukraine or in Syria, it has become clear that Russia’s actions are as much about its role in the world order as about those...
Weekend Roundup: Putin’s Drawdown Is as Much About World Order as About Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s surprise announcement this week of a withdrawal of some forces from Syria has put an end to the narrative that Russia was bound to be trapped in a Mideast quagmire. Whether in Ukraine or in Syria, it has become clear that Russia’s actions are as much about its role in the world order as about those...
