Black Sea
Russia’s 2008 attack in historical perspective
January 26, 2011Ninety-one years ago this week, the British cabinet rejected a comprehensive plan to rally an anti-Bolshevik coalition, support White Russian forces, control the Baku-Batumi corridor and the Caspian Sea and, from that position of strength, negotiate...
Russian Black Sea Fleet strengthens presence in Ukraine
January 24, 2011The Russian Navy plans to increase its presence on Ukrainian territory by adding urban infrastructure and civilian manpower to its naval assets in Sevastopol. The command of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet intends to build a housing estate (“mikrorayon...
The post-electoral bid of geopolitical visits in Moldova
January 18, 2011Moldova’s Foreign Policy Statewatch represents a series of brief analyses, written by local and foreign experts, dedicated to the most topical subjects related to the foreign policy of Moldova, major developments in the Black Sea Region, cooperation...
Russian-Chechen frictions resurface with mass ethnic clashes in Krasnodar
July 30, 2010By Valery Dzutsev On July 25, a large-scale fistfight broke out between Chechen youths and the local Russian population near Tuapse, a port town on the Black Sea in the Krasnodar region. Four hundred Chechen youths and children along with their older...
Crimean Tatar issue "lost" in Russia-Ukraine deal over Sevastopol
May 04, 2010Paul Goble Unless Crimean Tatar Issue is Addressed, Sevastopol Base Agreement May Not Remain the Victory Many in Moscow Think, Markedonov Says Moscow is celebrating its Sevastopol accord with Kyiv as “a victory … over the West,&rdquo...
Presiden Yanukovich's dubious deal
April 30, 2010By Michael Emerson The newly, democratically elected President Yanukovich of Ukraine has got off to a spectacularly fast but equally dubious start. First on his diplomacy. His first supposedly symbolic act of foreign policy was to fly to Brussels first...
Ukraine's Russian fleet deal raises cultural concerns
April 30, 2010By Peter Fedynsky Tuesday's egg-throwing brawl in the Ukrainian Parliament was sparked by a controversial agreement to extend the lease for Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the port of Sevastopol through 2042. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych negotiated...
Polarizing politics in Ukraine
April 28, 2010By David J. Kramer The agreement signed last week between Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev in which Ukraine will receive cheaper gas in exchange for extending Russia’s Black Sea Fleet presence in Crimea...
The Kremlin advances its vision for a “sphere of privileged interests” in Eurasia
April 27, 2010By Stephen Blank Russia’s strategic gains at Ukraine’s and Europe’s expense Russia’s new deal with Ukraine on the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) and gas prices has profound bilateral significance, as well as for the CIS and even Europe...
Ukraine ratifies Russia naval base amid violent protests in Rada
April 27, 2010Ukraine's parliament has voted to extend a lease on a Russian naval base, during a turbulent session where smoke bombs and eggs were thrown at Ukrainian politicians. Watch video below The agreement extends Russia's lease on a naval base at the Ukrainian...