Elections in Turkmenistan Signal the Early Stages of a Political Dynasty
Fran McDonough Following the resignation of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, snap elections were held in Turkmenistan in early March in which the former President’s son, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, emerged victorious. Although the ballot listed nine candidates in total, the election is believed to have been heavily controlled by the former President. Critics fear that the results indicate…
Alexei Navalny sentenced to nine years in maximum-security prison
Nick Mosher Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to 9 years in a maximum-security prison on charges of fraud. Russian authorities claim that he stole $4.7 million of donations made to his organization, the Anti-Corruption Foundation. Navalny is currently in prison serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence after being charged in February 2021 for violating…
Russia enacts “fake news” law criminalizing unfavorable coverage of war in Ukraine
Nick Mosher On March 4, President Vladimir Putin signed into law new legislation criminalizing “fake news” with punishment of up to 15 years in prison. And who is to be the judge of what is true and what is “fake?” The Kremlin, of course. The new law specifically prohibits the intentional spread of information about…
Russian propaganda machine breaks ranks
Nick Mosher Marina Ovsyannikova, a TV editor for the Russian state-owned news station Channel One, interrupted the station’s broadcasting on March 14 to protest the war in Ukraine. Running onto the set during the nightly news live broadcast, Ovsyannikova held up a sign saying: “Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you…
Russians flee repression, economic collapse
Warner Speed Russian citizens are fleeing the country in the hundreds of thousands in the aftermath of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. On March 13, the BBC estimated that as many as 200,000 Russians have left the country since the beginning of the war. Many Russian citizens have crossed into Finland and the Baltic states,…
Living Under the Aggressor: What Life is like for Russians After the Invasion of Ukraine
At the time this article was written, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has entered its fourth week. As the war drags on and the Kremlin’s hope for a quick, successful invasion are dashed and sanctions on Moscow pile up, life for Russians at home deteriorate. To gain insight into what life is like for everyday…
Ukrainian refugee crisis continues to force millions to leave the county
Jackson Sharman Russian forces continue to force their way into Ukraine’s inner defenses, over four weeks (at time of writing) after the initial invasion. The Ukrainian military is mustering a spirited defense that has won sympathy from the rest of the world, though it is still uncertain when the war will end. Ukrainians who have…
Liberty Lexington 