Vilhelm Konnander

I am a Swedish specialist on politics and security in Russia and “Eastern Europe.” I have been dealing with the region on and off since the early 1990s and been around quite a lot.

At Vilhelm Konnander's Weblog I blog about all the thoughts and reflections within my field that I need to get out of my system. No wonder, given the theme of my blog: Politics & Security in Russia, Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asia. On Twitter @vkonnander.

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Latest posts by Vilhelm Konnander

Russia: Paving Political Potholes

RuNet Echo

Say the word "roads" to most Russians, and you are likely to end up with a half-hour discussion. Throughout history, Russia has been infamous for its bad road quality. However, now the city of Yekaterinburg seems to have come up with a solution to the problem, by making bureaucrats get down to work.

28 July 2012

Latvia: Flagging for Free Speech

Juris Kaža of Free Speech Emergency in Latvia reports that Latvian security police has closed an investigation into an Internet call to desecrate the Latvian flag, which is illegal in...

27 February 2012

Russia: Realism of Rearmament Plans

Streetwise Professor and Siberian Light critically discuss Russia's ambitious plans, presented by vice-premier Dmitry Rogozin, to build an aircraft carrier and six submarines annually over the coming years.

3 February 2012

Russia: Mafia State Review

Kelly Hignett of The View East reviews Luke Harding's Russia-critical book Mafia State on his dire experiences as a foreign correspondent in Russia.

20 January 2012

Ukraine: Tormenting Trial

LEvko of Foreign Notes criticizes the ongoing trial against former Ukrainian Interior Minister, Yuri Lutsenko, as procedures display an abnormal amount of legal irregularities.

20 January 2012

Romania: Towards A European Spring?

Gabriela Ionita of Power&Politics World summarizes ongoing anti-government protests in Romania, draws parallels to the Arab spring, and asks if this is the start of a European wave of revolutions.

19 January 2012

Russia: Oligarchs Day in Court

John Helmer of Dances With Bears accounts for the legal battle over business interests between Russian business tycoons Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich, which is about to be finalised by...

19 January 2012

Russia: Underwater Fire

Dmitry Gorenburg of Russian Military Reform notes yet another fire onboard a Russian submarine, putting naval safety procedures further in question.

19 January 2012

Russia: Kremlin Crisis Management

Ania Viver of Foreign Policy Blogs posts an interesting analysis on the Kremlin's attempts at calming down popular protests against the Russian leadership, and tries to explain why they fail...

19 January 2012

Ukraine: Poisonous Politics

LEvko of Foreign Notes addresses how reports about the possible poisoning of jailed opposition politician and ex-PM, Yulia Timoshenko, proliferate and remind people of the scars poison left on former...

19 January 2012

Ukraine: Trial By Jury Underway

Odessablog's Blog writes about an upcoming government bill on a new criminal procedure code for Ukraine, which would long overdue introduce the constitutionally guaranteed right to trial by jury into...

19 January 2012

Hungary: Culture Purge Proceeds

Hungarian Watch reports how yet another figurehead of Hungarian culture, György Szabó, has been ousted by authorities as director of the Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, making him yet another...

19 January 2012

Russia: Moscow Population Cuts

Kyle Keeton of Windows to Russia reports that the Moscow government is planning to reduce the number of people residing in over-crowded central Moscow, hoping for people moving to suburbs...

17 January 2012

Russia: Making A Run For It

Andy Young of Siberian Light reports that opposition politicians Mikhail Prokhorov and Grigory Yavlinsky have now collected the two million signatures needed for running for Russia's presidency in the upcoming...

17 January 2012

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