Ukraine: A Democracy In Need

Democratization process in Ukraine must remain driven by the people of Ukraine

The Legend of Visa-Free Travel

The current government habitually reports on its successes but presents them almost exclusively as future events.

The Yulia Tymoshenko Case: Why it Matters

The launch of the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko on 29 June is an unprecedented step coming just two months before Ukraine celebrates its twentieth anniversary of independence. To put this into historical context, this is the first occasion in three decades that political repression has returned to Ukraine. The last occasion when the state, then the Soviet Union, undertook repressive policies against the opposition was under Ukrainian communist leader Volodymyr Shcherbytsky.

Political Ping-pong

The European Parliament recently passed a resolution on Ukraine entitled “The cases of Yulia Tymoshenko and other members of the former government.”

A Slippery Slope

Russification in the broad sense, including economic, sociopolitical and other aspects, poses a threat not only to those societies which are targeted in general but also every individual member of that society.

Aggressive Standard-Bearers

Two weeks ago the police broke up a gay parade in Moscow, breaking a lesbian journalist’s arm into the bargain.

The Lure of Impunity

What I love about our television is its hospitality.

The Echo of the Scandal that Split the Nation

In 2003, a scandal emerged from a report by the Lithuanian State Security Department. It linked one of President Rolandas Paksas’s close advisers to a Russian businessman with suspected ties to organized crime. Others in the president’s inner circle were also alleged to have met with the Russian, Anzor Aksentyev-Kikalishvili, who was thought to have been interested in buying Lithuanian assets.

The Long Fight Against Corruption Goes On

Ukraine’s 20 years of independence has been marred by corruption, and at the same time the country has experienced how all the many political parties continuously make campaign promises to fight corruption.

Let Your Money Do the Talking

They say no. They interfere. They ban you and then you don’t want to do anything at all. Apathy… Say what you may, but now is not the time to build, organize or create anything in this country.