Brief #156 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
In September 2022, the deputies of the St. Petersburg municipal district Smolninskoye turned to the State Duma (Congress) with a proposal to dismiss president Vladimir Putin and additionally accuse him of treason for the violent war in Ukraine. Within a week, the deputies were accused of “discrediting the army” and fined, and the court launched a procedure for the dissolution of the municipal council.
Brief #150 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
On September 21, Russia’s president Putin announced the start of “partial mobilization” in Russia. He signed a law amending the Criminal Code, according to which the Russian Federation introduces punishment for voluntary surrender and desertion during the period of mobilization and refusal to participate in hostilities.
Violators face punishment of up to 10 years in prison for voluntary surrender and up to 15 years in prison for desertion.
Brief #148 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the most controversial figures in world politics. The Former USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) President died at the age of 92 in Moscow on Tuesday, August 30, after a severe and prolonged illness. The last, fifth general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, Gorbachev was also the the last president of the USSR. He is not popular in today’s Russia, while his actions are often appreciated in the Western world.
Brief #146 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
Since the day when Russia started a so-called “special operation in Ukraine”, the iconic phrase of the average Russian has become “But all are afraid of us!”
When a Siberian grandma tells you that she doesn’t have heating, water, and electricity in her old house in February when the outside temperature falls to -13F and the air in her unheated bedroom is freezy, and her family still uses a wobbly wooden toilet in the backyard, she will proudly add “But all are afraid of us!”
Brief #138 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
I’m speaking with a man who was on his way to fight for his country, Ukraine, that was invaded by Russia’s troops on February 24, 2022. He packed his bag in his Brooklyn house to cross the Atlantic Ocean, back to the land where he was born. He was almost done with packing when his close relative stepped in.
Brief #150 – Health & Gender Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
Two years of the pandemic drastically affected our life. Although the COVID-19 curve recently increased, we are eager to make steps toward revival. Theaters opened doors for the public in the 2021/22 season, museums welcomed visitors, and indoor performances became more frequent. We want to have our pre-pandemic routine back.
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.
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 – Health Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
Sport is beautiful, isn’t it? Many of us enjoy watching the Olympic games on TV. Mastery of fascinating figure skating and graceful rhythmic gymnastics enchant us. But what happens behind the curtain? What price do these gracious young teenagers in a big sport pay to meet adults’ ambitions? After Kamila Valieva, Russian teen figure skater, was cleared to participate in the Games despite testing positive for a banned drug, she finished fourth in the women’s individual figure skating competition at the Beijing Olympics.
Brief #145 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
I spent my childhood years in Odessa, a sunny seaport city in south Ukraine, on the Black Sea shore. People of more than 133 nations and nationalities have been residing in the Odessa region for hundreds of years. This multicultural melting pot induced tolerance to each other’s traditions, cultures, and languages. That is what was engraved in my childhood memory.