An Election for Blood

President Nursultan Nazarbayev called a snap parliamentary election to show to the entire world and his subordinates that the country is moving from authoritarianism to democracy

Rule of Law Heads the List of Needed Reforms in Ukraine

Independent judiciary that stands between the powerful state and the individual citizen is essential to democracy

False Notes In the Music of Revolution

Russian intellectuals have again fallen out with each other

Time to Act

Ukraine's place in the world and the quality of life in the country will hinge on whether a critical mass of people intent on making changes forms in 2012

European Time

Contemporary watches do not tick. They produce no sounds at all

Liquid Totalitarianism

In the modern liquid era, mass surveillance and colonization of that which is private is alive and well, though it assumes different forms.

Grand Master of Translation

Raised in a peasant family, Hryhoriy Kochur was exceptionally talented and scaled the mountains of the European spirit

Group D: Ukraine, England, France and Sweden. Don’t panic

They say that a theater begins with a coat stand and a European soccer championship with the draw. In the case of our national squad, pessimists use this metaphor to say the show will be a flop.

A Crisis of Liberalism?

The political matrix of Central and Eastern Europe opening up the political space for a bipartisan system with no authentic niche left for the liberals, allowed some catch-it-all or pocket parties set up by the new tycoons and those seeking political revenge to pass for liberal forces — and this was the real tragedy

Ukraine: Balancing Russia, the West and Democracy

Perhaps the biggest foreign policy challenge that has faced Ukraine’s leadership since the country regained independence in 1991 has been finding a balance between its relations with Russia and its relations with the West