As the year ends, I am invariably swamped with requests for our top 10 list. Without further ado, here are the best performing articles UkraineAlert published in 2018:
1. Payback: President Trump Gets Revenge for Russian Sanctions by Dr. Anders Åslund:
Short and to the point, our extremely knowledgeable political economist explains the story behind the absurd US sanctions list in January 2018.
2. Why Independence for Ukraine’s Orthodox Church Is An Earthquake for Putin by Dr. Taras Kuzio:
The various orthodox churches in Ukraine are downright confusing. Kuzio does yeoman’s work to explain everything simply. Ukraine wants its church completely free of Moscow, and it’s expected to receive the Ecumenical Patriarch’s formal permission on January 6, 2019.
3. The Geopolitical Divorce of the Century: Why Putin Cannot Afford to Let Ukraine Go by Peter Dickinson:
In broad and sweeping prose, the finest English-language writer about all things Ukraine explains why Moscow just cannot let Kyiv go
4. Yes, Ukraine’s Oligarchs Own the Airwaves, but Their Days Are Numbered by Vitalii Rybak:
Rybak, a top open-source analyst at the Ukraine World Group and Internews Ukraine, challenges the conventional wisdom that Ukraine’s oligarchs will continue to dominate television for the foreseeable future.
5. Russia Isn’t Just Interfering in Elections Around the World. It’s Doing Something Much Worse by Maxim Eristavi:
Before any major outlet noticed, our first-rate analyst and broadcast journalist warned that the Kremlin is recruiting allies within Western states’ law enforcement agencies in order to hunt down its critics. Eristavi spoke to a dozen Russian dissidents in this well-reported piece. Chilling and worth reading again.
6. Why the Russian Fuss over Fascist Salute at World Cup Backfired by Adrian Karatnycky:
When footballer Domagoj Vida shouted “Glory to Ukraine!” following Croatia’s victory over Russia in the quarter finals of the World Cup on July 7, it set off an international kerfuffle. The Atlantic Council’s very own political analyst and sports writer explains the inconsistencies within FIFA’s response.
7. Which Will Be Europe’s Poorest Country? Ukraine or Moldova by Anders Åslund:
In 2017, Aslund predicted that Ukraine’s economy will take off. However, it didn’t. Aslund examines why and what factors hold Ukraine back.
8. Ukraine’s Got a Real Problem with Far Right Violence (And No, RT Didn’t Write This Headline) by Josh Cohen:
Long-time contributor Josh Cohen warns that Ukraine isn’t doing enough to curb its problem with right-wing violence.
9. Why Is the International Media Still Repeating Kremlin Propaganda about Ukraine? by Peter Dickinson:
After the World Cup outburst, Dickinson explains the origins of “Slava Ukraini” (“Glory to Ukraine”) and points out numerous examples where the international botched their reporting of the incident.
10. From Crimea to Salisbury: Time to Acknowledge Putin’s Global Hybrid War by Peter Dickinson:
UkraineAlert’s most popular contributor explains why Putin’s strategy of plausible deniability is so effective. The West still cannot comprehend why “any rational nation would seek to dismantle the international security system, and remain trapped by the post-history delusion that Great Powers do not attack one another anymore.”
Thanks for reading, and thanks for making UkraineAlert a trusted source of news and analysis.
Melinda Haring is the editor of the UkraineAlert blog at the Atlantic Council and a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. She tweets @melindaharing.
Image: Participants of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) gather near an electronic screen showing Russian President Vladimir Putin, who speaks during a session of the forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo