Brief #136 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
The intersection of sports and politics have largely focused on this winter’s Olympic Games in China, and also the banning of Russian athletes globally. However, one gargantuan sport competition is set to take place this fall, and the controversy surrounding it has been to a large degree overshadowed by other parts of the world.
Brief #125 – Foreign Policy
By Abran C
On May 8, 2022, it was reported by the governor of the Luhansk region in Ukraine that a Russian missile killed 60 people sheltering inside a school. The Luhansk region has seen fierce combat as Russian troops and separatist fighters seek to surround government forces in their eastward offensive.
Brief #124 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
The larger question regarding the banning of Russian and Belarussian athletes is, should it apply to athletes who openly oppose the war and/or Vladimir Putin? An interesting example is Andrey Rublev. He wrote “No War Please” on a TV camera lens after advancing to the final match of the Dubai Championship. Is this sort of outward expression of anti-war sentiment something to be considered when banning athletes from sports based on the actions of their governmental leaders?
Brief #153 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
I see yapping about those who left – Alla, Maxim, Chulpan, Zemfira … It’s Russia that left you. Because Russia is them, not you,” Andrey Makarevich, the legendary Russian singer, said on his personal blog. After February 24th, 2022, when Putin’s army invaded Ukraine with a bloody violent war, a number of top Russia’s celebrities left the country. Their destination is the USA, Israel, Latvia, Germany, and the other places where they feel safe to speak about their disagreement with the war and call for peace.
Ukrainian forces have retaken the Kyiv region and other surrounding areas over the weekend as Russian troops have begun a withdrawal from certain areas of Ukraine. The ongoing invasion has proven to be much more difficult than it seems Russian military officials had expected. About two-thirds of Russian troops have left the Kyiv region and are already in Belarus or on their way there. Though the withdrawal is seen as victory in holding back Russian forces, they are likely to regroup, resupply, and gather reinforcements which may instead intensify fighting later on in other regions.
Brief #151 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seen an outpouring of support for Ukrainians from every facet of the Western world. One of the largest initial reactions to the war has come from the sports world which banded together following the Olympics and showed a united front against Putin’s war.
Brief #150 – Foreign Policy
By Abran C
Over a month into Russia’s assault on Ukraine, there still is no end. Russia’s attempt to conquer Ukraine has stalled and taken a much larger toll than many predicted. A lack of preparedness, supplies, and morale has caused a stalemate among ground forces. Yet as Russia’s advance has slowed, its air assaults have intensified. About 300 people are believed to have been killed in an airstrike by Russian warplanes on a theatre in the city of Mariupol.
Brief #149 – Foreign Policy
By Randy Wyrick
American basketball superstar Brittney Griner is a political prisoner in Russia. To see her plight any other way is to fail to see it at all.
Brief #149 – Foreign Policy
By Abran C
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its second week, the destruction and death toll have continued to worsen. Nearly 2 million people or 4.5% of the population, have fled Ukraine. Most refugees have made their way to neighboring countries such as Hungary, Poland, Moldova, and Slovakia.
Brief #148 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
My friend Maria is a New York volunteer who collects clothes, blankets, and medicines for Ukrainian hospitals. She sends it to Poland volunteers, paying for express air shipping from her own pocket. Maria was born in Mariupol. Had you ever heard about this place before the devastating war in Ukraine started? Mariupol was a beautiful green Ukrainian city on the coast of the Sea of Azov. If you travel there before February 24th, 2022, you would love this quiet nice place.
Brief #147 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
Sports and politics have always been intertwined, especially the Olympic Games (ancient or modern). The Games have had a history of many highly political moments such as the hosting of the Games in Berlin in 1936 under the Nazi regime; or the 1980 Summer Olympic Boycott against the Soviet Union; or the uproar after the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute atop the podium; and many other instances.
Brief #146 – Foreign Policy
By Abran C
On February 24, 2022, the largest assault on a European state since World War Two began as Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces entered by way of air, land, and sea quickly spreading across the country. Areas outside of the capital Kyiv, such as the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv have fallen under Russian control.