Life in Crimea – a first person account

Sevastopol | copyright of photographer Yuriy Yuganson

By AUSLANDER

Well, we’ve got four years of fun under out belts now and to say it’s been interesting is like calling a 200 kilo rabbit mildly horizontally challenged.

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Ukraine stops trains to Crimea

Crimean people celebrate being accepted as part of the Russian Federation in Simferopol, the Republic of Crimea, March 18, 2014.

Ukraine has stopped cargo and passenger train movements to Crimea, Crimean Railway head Andrei Karakulkin said on Saturday. “All Ukrainian trains have fully stopped traffic since today.”

“This is misunderstanding. People have to return tickets. Queues have formed at railway ticket offices. People are concerned over their families and relatives both in Crimea and Ukraine,” Karakulkin said.

Destabilization – US weapon in energy war in Ukraine and the Middle East

Is the USA fueling crises as negotiation tactics? The US is doing its best to estrange the EU from Russia to get the upper hand in a free trade deal, and also, to manipulate European countries into buying America’s relatively more expensive natural gas.

By MAHDI DARIUS NAZEMROAYA*

The TTIP and Ukraine

(Oct. 8) – The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a Euro-Atlantic free trade agreement that is the subject of ongoing negotiations between the US and the EU. The deadline for finalizing the TTIP free trade agreement is in 2015. Its goal is to create what is referred to as the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Area (TAFTA) and to cement the European Union with the United States as one supranational trading bloc.

Obama and Putin barter over Crimea

Click to enlarge

Reality check: Windsor family – the admirers of fascism

Charles Windsor, the heir to the British throne, told an individual at the Canadian Immigration Museum in Halifax on Monday May 19th that, “Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler,” ostensibly relating to the accession of Crimea to Russia in March. The venue was a meeting with World War II veterans organized by the Harper government. His press entourage was quick to sensationalize the seeming “private” comment.

Word. UKRAINE – What is the endgame?

Oligarchic topography of Ukraine

Screenshot of Prof Andrei Fursov

For the information of readers, we are publishing extensive excerpts from a wide ranging analysis of the 2013-2014 situation in Ukraine, its antecedents and consequences from the perspective of a senior Russian academic, ANDREI FURSOV, director of the Centre of Russian Studies. This is an unofficial transcription of a recent video lecture published on Wikispooks, The Great Game. I recommend watching it first, to see for yourself the integrity and outlook of the analyst. It is one hour, in Russian, but with good English subtitles. Prof Fursov analyzes the different vested interests in combat, their tactics and strategy, in an international context with lots of facts. The section on the Ukrainian oligarchs is very informative. His outlook might be described as Russian chauvinistic. One of his main theses rings very true: “he who is reactive is doomed.” (Update May 12: The video of the discussion following the lecture was just published on Youtube on May 10th. It is 100 minutes in length in Russian with subtitles in English, and may be viewed here.

Sighting. Crimea in pictures

The Swallow’s Nest decorative castle in southern Crimea | © RIA Novosti. Alexander Vilf

The Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Yalta, southern Crimea | © RIA Novosti. Sergey Subbotin