Epstein Secrets

toff Article 4. Washington Post Existential Crisis for Obama Too David Ignatius Article 5. The American Interest Strategy after Crimea Playing Putin's Game Walter Russell Mead Article 6. NYT Egypt's Enduring Passion for Soccer Alaa Al Aswany _ Article 7. WSJ Book Review: 'Temptations of Pow

pril 16, 2014 -- As President Obama looks at the Ukraine crisis, he sees an asymmetry of interests: Simply put, the future of Ukraine means more to Vladimir Putin's Russia than it does to the U.S. or Europe. For Putin, this is an existential crisis; for the West, so far, it isn't -- as the limited U.S. and Euro

the Kremlin aims to repeat the process, and from President Putin's desk it must look as if many of the pieces for

e point to the intelligence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Game Theory and encourage others to beat

ics returned (in some cases more willingly than others) to the fold. By 1939, when Soviet troops invaded the Baltic Republics, from Central Asia to the Baltic Sea, almost all of the far- flung dominions of the Romanovs were once more under a single flag. Only Poland and Finland were able to resist incorporatio

A display of supremacy In December 2011, members of the Russian opposition obtained video evidence of ballot stuffing committed by operatives from Vladimir Putin's United Russia party in that month's parliamentary elections. A series of unusu- ally large protests ensued. Putin weathered the furor and went on t

n authoritarians. Again, Russia has taken the lead, with the state's asser- tion of authority over history textbooks and the process, encouraged by Putin, of reassessing the historical role of Joseph Stalin. • The hiring of political consultants and lobbyists from democratic countries to represent t

hinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing. 2016. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

obbying on behalf of Nord Stream II, a Russian-backed pipeline plan that would deliver more natural gas directly to Western and Central Europe via the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine and Belarus. At the same time, Burt was helping to write a major Trump foreign policy address. That speech, among other things

. To some, Ukraine has become the geopolitical faultline between the liberal democratic West and authoritarian, neo-imperial Russia under President Vladimir Putin. Foreign policy luminaries in Washington openly discuss the current state of affairs as a new Cold War. Beneath the political divisions of the pre

mpire, to find their fortune -- sometimes as hired muscle. The first major center of the "Rus" was at Kiev, established in the 9th century. In 988, Vladimir, a prince of the Kievan Rus, was baptized by a Byzantine priest in the old Greek colony of Khersonesos on the Crimean coast. His conversion marked t

an coast. His conversion marked the advent of Orthodox Christianity among the Rus and remains a moment of great nationalist symbolism for Russians. Putin invoked this older Vladimir in a speech last December when justifying his annexation of Crimea. Successive Mongol invasions beginning in the 13th c

3th century The "Rus" -- the people whose name got tacked on to Russia -- were originally Scandinavian traders and settlers who made their way from the Baltic Sea through the marshes and forests of Eastern Europe down toward the fertile riverlands of what's now Ukraine. Other Viking adventurers journeyed to C

Empire, to find their fortune -- sometimes as hired muscle. The first major center of the "Rus" was at Kiev, established in the 9th century. In 988, Vladimir, a prince of =he Kievan Rus, was baptized by a Byzantine priest in the old Greek colony of Khersonesos on the Crimean coast. His conversion 18 EFT

_02175163 EFTA02719142 marked the advent of Orthodox Christianity among the Rus and remains=a moment of great nationalist symbolism for Russians. Putin invoked this older Vladimir in a speech last December when justifying his annexation of Crimea= Successive Mongol invasions beginning in the 13th ce

3th century The "Rus" -- the people whose name got tacked on to Russia -- were originally Scandinavian traders and settlers who made their way from the Baltic Sea through the marshes and for=sts of Eastern Europe down toward the fertile riverlands of what's now Ukra=ne. Other Viking adventurers journeyed to Co

ern authoritarians. Again, Russia has taken the lead, with the state's asser- tion of authority over history textbooks and the process, encouraged by Putin, of reassessing the historical role of Joseph Stalin. ¢ The hiring of political consultants and lobbyists from democratic countries to represent th

represent undue interference in their domestic affairs and a violation of national pre- rogatives. 3. Dictatorship of law: Initially articulated by Vlad- imir Putin, this phrase has come to signify the adoption of laws that are so vaguely written as to www.freedomhouse.org HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019241 --- PAGE BREAK

o cast ballots than it is for Hungarian citizens who are tempo- rarily working in Europe or elsewhere. ¢ Asa matter of high priority, both Orban and Pu- tin have secured domination over the judiciary with the goal of removing its role as a check on their power. ‘Law and Justice’ in Poland Like Hungary,

ernment. ls Orban a Central European version of Putin? Orban's domestic critics have often compared his governing style to that of Russian president Vladimir Putin. On the surface, the comparison seems unfair. Hungary is still rated Free by Freedom House. It still has genuine opposition parties, however we