One Reason for Estonia’s Success Lies Across the Gulf

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Estonia has fared much better than other former Soviet republics. The Estonian economy has developed rapidly, and society as a whole is very free and democratic. The reason? Not only timely and judicious political decisions, but also the strong influence of Estonia’s northern neighbour Finland.

Some Tips for Supporters of Ukraine’s European Integration

In order to avoid continued manipulation by the Ukrainian government, the West should focus on direct contacts with Ukrainian society more, and thus form its own concept of the processes in Ukraine

Estonia: Restoration Meant No to a Soviet Legacy

Estonians took radical action to get rid from the Soviet legal system and laid the foundation for the rule of law, with a clear separation of powers and an independent judiciary.

Jacek Saryusz-Wolski: “Our standards in human rights and democracy are what matters. If a country wants to come closer to the EU and sign up, it should fulfill these. Otherwise, sorry”

Armenia, Georgia and Moldova have much better chances of signing the Association Agreement in Vilnius than Ukraine at this point. But things may change. The ball is on the Ukrainian side

Offshore Leaks

The biggest ever leak of information about the offshore accounts of global companies reveal the dark side of the global economy. The lists also include Ukraine’s richest oligarchs

Not Yet Quiet in Baghdad

Life in Iraq ten years after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein

Turn Again, Great Britain

Margaret Thatcher made Britons feel confident of themselves, and once again proud of their country, and have put the ‘Great’ back into Great Britain

The Mythical Benefits of the Customs Union

The Customs Union is causing major economic problems not only for its “minority” members, Kazakhstan and Belarus, but even for the major stakeholder - Russia

Pawel Swieboda: “If Ukraine fails to sign the Association Agreement with the EU, it will have a hard time returning to negotiations”

The Ukrainian Week discusses Ukraine’s European prospects with Pawel Swieboda, formerly EU Advisor to the Polish president and currently President of DemosEUROPA Centre for European Strategy

Russia is Arming Itself, but Against Whom?

Vladimir Putin has announced military reforms involving a large-scale rearmament of Russia. Success is not guaranteed, but Moscow will be able to do even more sabre-rattling before its neighbours and the West

A Prisoner of Conscience?

Pavel Khodorkovsky speaks about how his father has become a symbol of political repression in Russia and why he poses a threat to Vladimir Putin

The Art of Tightrope Walking

Pekka Visuri talks about security policy in neutral Finland

Personal, political and clan interests of those in power have always been more important to them than the national interest of the country

James Sherr claims that Ukraine’s choice today is between national and clan interests rather than Russia and the West

European politicians feel that Ukrainian authorities are mucking them about

Andrew Wilson, political analyst and Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, talks to The Ukrainian Week about the Ukraine-EU Summit and Yanukovych's tactics in negotiations with Brussels

Russia’s Soft Power Wars

The stark contrast between Western and Russian understanding of “soft power” has become evident during President Vladimir Putin’s third presidency. For the Kremlin, “soft power” is part of its arsenal of foreign policy tools designed to re-integrate Russia’s neighbors around a Moscow orbit.

Three in a Boat

PACE’s failure to recognize Azerbaijani political prisoners creates problems for their counterparts in Ukraine

Ukraine Between East and West

Stephen Blank of the Strategic Studies Institute talks about Ukraine confronting the growing pressure from Moscow and isolation from Brussels and Washington and the crises these cause.

PACE Vice-President: “Ukrainians alone can demand condemnation of Ukraine’s election riggers”

René Rouquet, PACE vice president, discussed with The Ukrainian Week whether international organizations can realistically be expected to impose sanctions on election riggers and whether Party of Regions representatives will again join the socialist faction at the PACE winter session to be held on 21-25 January in Strasbourg.

Adam Michnik: “Neo-Soviet Putin culture and the Berlusconi-type mafia culture have come to co-exist in Ukraine”

Polish civil and political activist Adam Michnik told The Ukrainian Week about the outlook for democracy in Ukraine.

Iran: Growing Dependent on China

Foreign Affairs Analyst Richard Heydarian talks about the present status and the outlook of Sino-Iranian relations

Igor Chubais: It’s naive to expect changes in Russia through elections

Igor Chubais, philosopher and brother of Russian politician Anatoly Chubais, told The Ukrainian Week about the direction in which Russia is moving, how many years the ruling regime has left and relations between official Kyiv and Moscow.

How to Save EU

Nicolas Tenzer on how the united Europe can overcome economic and geopolitical challenges

A War for the Neighbours’ Ears

The Party of Regions launches yet another campaign to whitewash the Yanukovych regime and discredit the opposition. Its members accuse international observers of violations and struggle to persuade the West that the election was democratic in Paris, and talk about threats from Svoboda in London

Andreas Gross: "Ukraine is already under authoritarian rule"

Andreas Gross headed the PACE observation mission for the October 2012 parliamentary election in Ukraine. Before PACE publishes its official report on the Ukrainian election on November 12, Mr. Gross shared his opinion with The Ukrainian Week.

Aleksander Smolar: “Full democracy can be revived in Ukraine only if citizens put pressure on the government”

For 21 years now, since Poland moved from socialism to democracy, Polish political scientist Aleksander Smolar has headed an influential NGO, the Stefan Batory Foundation, which was instrumental in developing open civil society in Poland and which has been involved in a number of national and international projects in Eastern Europe.

The American Choice of Europe

The EU hopes for Barack Obama to win the election, yet expects global leadership from any US president