Tag Archives: armenia

Russia’s options in Belarus

Posted on August 15, 2020 by

“I need to contact Putin,” said Alexander Lukashenko, “Belarus’s former president” – as Lithuania’s minister of foreign affairs called him recently – after almost a week of unrelenting and ever-growing protests and strikes against the falsification of a presidential election … Continue reading →

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Alexander the Reluctant

Posted on November 21, 2019 by

Belarus’s parliamentary election last week got barely any attention, even though the vote was a rehearsal for next year’s presidential election, in which Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, will run for a sixth term. This coming election may tell … Continue reading →

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Looking farther in the near-abroad

Posted on November 19, 2018 by

One of the most amazing stories coming out of Russia this year was, in fact, coming out of somewhere else: Armenia. In April, Serzh Sargsyan, president in 2008-18, attempted to continue ruling the country from the newly empowered position of … Continue reading →

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The psychology of loose wheels 

Posted on August 29, 2015 by

How annoyed would you feel if you had to make an utter fool of yourself, day after day, for benefits that are gradually decreasing? Probably about as annoyed as Sergey Lavrov, the Russian minister of foreign affairs did when he … Continue reading →

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A rebalancing act

Posted on April 25, 2015 by

Vladimir Putin’s annual televised Q&A session last week revealed more about the present state of affairs in Russia and Putinism in general than it was obvious at first sight. The Russian president has made several moves suggesting that he wants … Continue reading →

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A case against Medvedev #2: the Armenian lesson

Posted on May 9, 2014 by

One of the most publicised reforms carried out during Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency was Russia’s switch to year-round Daylight Saving Time (DST) for economic and health reasons. However, the reform did not quite work out and sparked a lively debate, yet, … Continue reading →

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