Russia Stands With Serbia

Staff / Truthdig Feb 26, 2008 Russia and the US are picking sides in the conflict over Kosovo's bid for independence from Serbia Washington's support of Kosovo led to last week's protest outside the U Embassy in Belgrade, and now Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who may well be next to lead Russia, has reaffirmed that his country will stand behind Serbia Medvedev commented Monday during a visit to Belgrade. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

World Leaders Struggle With Kosovo Independence

Staff / Truthdig Feb 18, 2008 Kosovo's declaration of independence has prompted both condemnation and cheers from world leaders Whether in the UN Security Council or the European Union, global opinion is divided In particular, the declaration has served as a flashpoint for tension between the United States and Russia, an ugly reenactment of the kind of jockeying for influence that was supposed to have been buried with the Cold War. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pentagon Plans Satellite Shoot-Down

Staff / Truthdig Feb 16, 2008 Attention, China: The U.S. military will soon be staging a bit of sky theater in trying to shoot down an inoperative American intelligence satellite. So, what does this show of atmospheric pyrotechnics have to do with China? Read on. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Timothy Snyder on the Forgotten Holocaust

Timothy Snyder / Truthdig Feb 15, 2008 One of the great crimes of the 20th century -- the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi-occupied Soviet territories -- is all but forgotten. "The Unknown Black Book" helps us remember. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

Putin and the New ‘Arms Race’

Staff / Truthdig Feb 9, 2008 Vladimir Putin isn't taking the expansion of NATO and a planned missile shield lightly The Russian president told his people: "It is already clear that a new phase in the arms race is unfolding in the world It is not our fault, because we did not start it" Flush with oil money, Russia is planning to beef up and flaunt its military capabilities in response. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Immigration Dept. Deports Americans

Staff / Truthdig Jan 25, 2008 Despite his Southern accent and the conclusions of a court to the contrary, officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement managed to convince themselves that Thomas Warziniack was born in Russia. So they detained and planned to deport him. He is just one of hundreds of victims caught up in an unforgiving bureaucracy who beg, often without recourse, to be taken seriously. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Putin Is Time’s ‘Person of the Year’

Staff / Truthdig Dec 20, 2007 Time magazine has decided to celebrate "order before freedom," as the newsweekly put it, with its "person of the year" selection, because "if Russia succeeds as a nation-state in the family of nations, it will owe much of that success to one man, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Medvedev

Rainer Hachfeld, Neues Deutschland, Germany Dec 12, 2007 Dig deeper

Putin Wins

Olle Johansson, Sweden Dec 4, 2007 Dig deeper

Russian Election Boosts Putin, Sparks Protests

Staff / Truthdig Dec 4, 2007 The results of Sunday's parliamentary election in Russia, which resulted in a sweeping victory for Vladimir Putin's United Russia party and signaled that the president will stay in power beyond the end of his second term next spring, are being questioned on a national and international scale. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush Gets Mugged

Mike Luckovich / Truthdig Nov 22, 2007 Dig deeper

Putin: I’m Not Going Anywhere

Staff / Truthdig Nov 13, 2007 Although term limits require Russian President Vladimir Putin to step down in May, many, including chess wizard and opposition leader Garry Kasparov, have speculated that he will find some way to maintain his influence. Putin, it seems, agrees, saying that if his party wins the next election, he will have the "moral right to hold those in the Duma and the Cabinet responsible for the implementation" of his policies. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )