· May, 2008

Stories about Russia from May, 2008

Ukraine, Russia: Personae Non Gratae

  31 May 2008

On May 12, Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov was declared persona non grata in Ukraine, following his calls for Russia to take ownership of Sevastopol, a Ukrainian Black Sea naval port. On May 15, Russia denied entry to Vladyslav Kaskiv, one of the leaders of the 2004 protests in Kyiv and member of the Our Ukraine/People's Self-Defense faction in the Ukrainian parliament. LJ user varfolomeev66, a Russian journalist, compares the two cases.

Russia: “Medialogia”

  29 May 2008

Scraps of Moscow writes about Russian politics and the media: “Sometimes, though, mediologists, not meteorologists, are the best way of trying to figure out which way the political winds are blowing on a given week.”

Russia: Ideas for Eurovision

  28 May 2008

Megan Case 2.0 writes on Russia's Eurovision victory: “I think that Russia should have pulled out all the stops and filled the stage with famous people – they could have had Maria Sharapova hitting tennis balls into the audience, and the whole of Zenit (St. Petersburg’s football/soccer team and the...

Ukraine: Tymoshenko's Politics

  26 May 2008

Foreign Notes writes about PM Yulia Tymoshenko's defeat in the Kyiv election, her meeting with PM Vladimir Putin, and the future of her cabinet.

Ukraine: A View From Crimea

  22 May 2008

Last week, Ukraine banned Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov from the country, after he called for Russia to take ownership of Sevastopol, a Ukrainian Black Sea naval port. The incident received much coverage in the Russian and Ukrainian media and blogs. Below is one more post, written by a Russophone resident of Balaklava, a Crimean town that has an official status of a district of the city of Sevastopol.

Estonia: Arnold Meri's Trial

  21 May 2008

Itching for Eestimaa writes about the trial of Arnold Meri: “On Voice of America he's an ‘ex-officer.’ On Russia Today he's a ‘war hero.’ And on the BBC, he's a ‘Soviet war figure’.”

Russia: Semion Chelyuskin

  20 May 2008

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about Semion Chelyuskin, a Russian explorer who reached the northernmost point of mainland Eurasia in 1742.