70th Anniversary of Carpatho-Ukraine

President Yushchenko was in Chust the other day, observing the 70th anniversary of the founding of Carpatho-Ukraine. This was a short-lived federation created in the Carpathian Mountains on the eve of World War II. For this post, I’m including excerpts from an unpublished article I’ve written on Ukraine and Ukrainian-Americans during WWII. [...]

Update on the Ternopil elections in Ukraine

Veronica Khokhlova, probably the best blogger covering Ukraine today, has an after-action review of the Ternopil elections. The final results are just as bleak for Yulia Tymoshenko as the initial count appeared to be:
“Tyahnybok’s Svoboda won the election (34.69%, 153,038 votes, 50 seats out of 120), presidential chief of staff Victor Baloha’s United [...]

Dagestan heats up for the Russians

Five Russian soldiers and at least 14 militants are dead in Dagestan (which incidentally sounds like a GREAT title for a thriller.) The clashes took place on Thursday, about thirty klicks from the capital of Makhachkala. Russia is currently stepping-up operations against Dagestani separatists. At the same time, economic problems [...]

Does the Kremlin have online goon squads?

I’m tempted to say something about bears and the woods/popes and Catholicism.
The article over at OpenDemocracy is a reprint of an Expertiza.ru article from about a year ago. But it’s still interesting reading. The editor of Expertiza asserts that the Russian FSB has legions of totalitarian supporters which mob anti-government forums, [...]

Tymoshenko and Yushchenko meet in Brussels

Both Tymoshenko and Yushchenko were recently in Brussels for the yearly summit of the European People’s Party (EPP). The EPP is a transnational political coalition comprising parties from both inside and outside the European Union.
As you likely know, the former Orange Revolution allies have now become political opponents, permanently fracturing the orange coalition. [...]

Yushchenko calls for rehabilitation of Hetman Mazeppa

During a visit to the home village of Hetman Mazepa today, Yushchenko called for the rehabilitation of the historic Cossack leader’s reputation.
The legacy of Hetman Mazepa has always been controversial, with Ukrainians and Russians dividing strongly over the issue. In Russian mythology, Mazepa was a terrible villain — a betrayer of his rightful [...]

Medvedchuk to run for President of Ukraine?

Viktor Medvedchuk is not one of my favorite people. Back in the pre-Yushchenko days, he was basically Darth Vader to President Kuchma’s evil Emperor. It was Viktor Medvedchuk who censored and controlled public opinion, distributing Soviet-style temniki talking points to the media. Members of his political party, the SDPU(o) are making [...]

Russian military soon to acquire 1990s-level tech marvels

While Russians celebrated a quick win over Georgia, after-action analysis revealed major weaknesses in the Russian military. Outdated equipment, poorly trained troops, weak intelligence, and spotty logistics are only a partial list of problems facing the Russian military.
Much like neighboring Ukraine, Russia has long needed to downsize its military. This would allow [...]

Ukrainian megachurch pastor finally taken down

Anyone moving in Ukrainian religious circles knows the name Sandea “Sunday” Adelaja. He’s the pastor of the largest Protestant church in Ukraine, the Embassy of God, which claims over fifty thousand members. If you tell someone in Kiev that you’re an Evangelical, they’re apt to respond, “You’re a Sunday-ist?” Many, many people have come [...]

Tymoshenko loses support in Ternopil

This can’t bode well for the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc — in local elections, the queen is pulling only 8% in a region that once heavily supported her. Even the Party of Regions, an eastern Ukrainian party, garnered 11%.

Ukrainian political party Svoboda is posting election results as they come in.
Crossposted from Ukrainian Policy Daily