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Brief #172 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov

February 24th 2022 is now the day in world history when Russia started a bloody violent war against Ukraine. For another year Ukrainians have been suffering from Russian missiles, cruelty, and terrorist attacks on energy infrastructure. People are used now to constant power outages.

Brief #166 – Yelena Korshunov
By Yelena Korshunov

On January 14th a Russian missile hit a residential high-rise building in Dnipro – a big industrial Ukrainian city. According to the head of the Ukrainian regional military administration, Valentin Reznichenko, on January 17th the removal of rubble had been going on for more than 60 hours. At that moment, 90% of the wreckage of the destroyed nine-story building had been dismantled.

Brief #162 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov

Last week the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, addressed the US Congress in a persuasive, emotional speech highlighting Americans’ support in protecting Ukraine and world democracy. Here are some memorable excerpts from his speech.

Brief #161 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov

There is another day in the city of Odessa when people are surviving without water, power, and heat. It is 34F on the streets and a little bit warmer in apartments. Adults throw extra blankets on children and wrap themselves in another layer. How long have they been living in this cold and darkness, just trying to survive? A week, a month? In the chilly morning some of them go to work. It’s cold there as well. However, power generators work 7/24 in hospitals, precincts, and some stores.

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.