Section: Time (USA)
Why the Kremlin Is Blaming Putin Critic’s Murder on a ‘Provocation’
On Saturday the Kremlin trotted out a favorite piece of Russian doublespeak to explain the murder of one of its most strident critics. Boris Nemtsov, a leading figure in the opposition to President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead around midnight on Friday a short walk from Red Square, and within hours the state had deemed the killing a...
5 Disputed Numbers That Explain Geopolitics
Every world leader uses data for political purposes. But some take it a step further. Here are five disputed stats where the controversy itself sheds light on a deeper political question. 1. How many Russians are in Ukraine? Estimates of Russian troops in Ukraine differ dramatically depending on which side of the border you’re standing on....
Kremlin Critic Gunned Down in Moscow Ahead of Anti-Putin March
The Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down in Moscow around midnight on Friday as he walked within view of the Kremlin walls. Soon after the gunshots rang out in the heart of the Russian capital, President Vladimir Putin was informed of the murder, which he characterized as a “provocation.” Through his spokesman, Putin told...
Putin’s Approval Rating Rises to 86% Despite Slumping Economy
Russian President Vladimir Putin saw his approval ratings tick up to 86% even as the economy reels from Western sanctions and falling oil prices. Levada Center, a Moscow-based pollster, released a poll Thursday showing Putin’s approval ratings increased one percentage point from a month earlier. Putin’s approval numbers have soared...
Russian Gas Flows to Eastern Ukraine in ‘Humanitarian’ Gesture
Russia says it has begun supplying gas to the war-ravaged area of eastern Ukraine, now that the government in Kiev says it can no longer deliver fuel there because of heavy fighting and damage to fuel-supply networks. Ukraine’s state gas company, Naftogaz, said Feb. 19 that it cut off gas to the rebel-held region the day before “[d]ue to...
Ukraine’s Maidan Protests Anniversary Met with Bombs, Fresh Fighting
Violence erupted in eastern Ukraine’s largest city on Sunday, as thousands across the country commemorated the anniversary of the popular uprising that toppled the pro-Kremlin administration, sparking a separatist revolt that so far has claimed more than 5,000 lives. In Kharkiv, a northeastern city of some 1.5 million people, a bomb...
McCain ‘Ashamed’ of How U.S. Has Handled Ukraine Conflict
Senator John McCain said in an interview Sunday that the United States and its allies haven’t done enough to stop the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine, where government forces and Russia-backed separatists locked in battle claim a cease-fire agreement has been violated and remains fragile. “I’m ashamed of my country, I’m ashamed of...
Go Inside the Frozen Trenches of Eastern Ukraine
In the frozen landscapes of Eastern Ukraine, where government forces and pro-Russia fighters are fighting a bitter war of attrition, the specter of another vicious and unforgiving war looms. “Shortly before the ceasefire, the scene was reminiscent of a World War I battleground,” says photographer Ross McDonnell, who has spent the last two weeks...
U.K. Defense Secretary Says Russia is a ‘Danger’ to Baltic States
The U.K. Defense Secretary said there is a “real and present danger” of Russia trying to destabilize the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Michael Fallon told reporters Wednesday, “I’m worried about Putin. I’m worried about his pressure on the Baltics, the way he is testing Nato,” BBC reports. Fallon said he was...
Ukrainian President Poroshenko Asks for U.N. Peacekeepers to Enforce Truce
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called for the U.N. to intervene in his country’s escalating internal crisis on Wednesday, asking for peacekeeping forces to be deployed to enforce a cease-fire he claims is being violated by pro-Russian rebels. Poroshenko said the peacekeepers would help maintain security “in a situation where the...
