Essay: Wagner’s mutiny punctured Putin’s ‘strongman’ image and exposed cracks in his rule
In an article first published on The Conversation, PETER RUTLAND, professor of government at Wesleyan University, looks at events in Russia on the weekend – and what the longer-term impacts may be…
Russian mercenaries return to bases after challenge to Putin’s authority
Rostov-on-Don/Voronezh, Russia Reuters Heavily armed Russian mercenaries withdrew from the southern Russian city of Rostov under a deal that halted their rapid advance on Moscow but raised questions on Sunday about President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. Ending their short-lived mutiny, fighters of the Wagner group began heading back to their bases late on Saturday […]
Rebel Russian mercenaries turn back short of Moscow “to avoid bloodshed”
Rostov-on-Don/Voronezh, RussiaReuters Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who advanced most of the way to Moscow began turning back on Saturday, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power, in a move their leader said would avoid bloodshed. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former Putin ally and founder of the Wagner army, said his men reached […]
Russia moves ahead with deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus
Moscow, RussiaReuters Russia moved ahead on Thursday with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, whose leader said the warheads were already on the move, in the Kremlin’s first deployment of such bombs outside Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. The US State Department denounced the deployment plan, but said […]
Belarus PM replaces Lukashenko at ceremony, sparks speculation
Reuters Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has not been seen in public since Tuesday, did not appear on Sunday at a ceremony in the capital, Minsk, triggering speculation that the veteran leader is seriously ill. The BelTA state news agency reported that Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko read a message from Lukashenko during an annual ceremony […]
Russian ‘kamikaze’ drones hit Kyiv, Putin has talks in ally Belarus
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Russian “kamikaze” drones hit key energy infrastructure in and around Kyiv on Monday and President Vladimir Putin visited Belarus for the first time since 2019, fuelling Ukrainian fears he will pressure his ally to open a new invasion front. But Ukraine was hardly mentioned by Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko after […]
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy defiant as Russian forces, despite setbacks, regroup near Kyiv
Lviv, UkraineReuters President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday Ukraine had reached a “strategic turning point” in the conflict with Russia, but Russian forces bombarded cities across the country and appeared to be regrouping for a possible assault on the capital Kyiv. The governor of the Kharkiv region, on the Russian border, said a psychiatric hospital […]
Essay: With brazen dissident arrest, Belarus finds itself more isolated than ever
In an article first published on The Conversation, ANASTASIYA BYESYEDINA, a researcher at the University of Sydney, looks at the background to events in Belarus this week…
Essay: Slow international response to Belarus crisis shows limits of world’s human rights regime
In an article first published on The Conversation, KANSTANTSIN DZEHTSIAROU, professor in human rights law at the University of Liverpool, says there is much more the international community could do to support human rights in Belarus…
Putin says Russia is ready to provide security help to Belarus
Minsk, Belarus/Moscow, RussiaAP Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that he stands ready to send police to Belarus if protests there turn violent but sees no such need yet, while Belarusian police dispersed a protest in the capital with renewed vigour Thursday, detaining about 180 people and raising pressure on the opposition. Belarus’ authoritarian president of […]