"We are at war, in WWIII for many decades now. We have been systematically targeted on different fronts and locations. Alas, my beloved America has not recognized it yet... " This nonfiction work chronicles the development of world politics in the 21st century. Discover the single driving force behind today's threat of global terrorism. Learn why the 9/11 attack was just one link in a long chain of battles against Western civilization and how Islam and oil are being used as weapons by a very determined enemy. The author sets the stage with several first-hand narratives from her unique experience as a prominent attorney in Russia. Then, she demonstrates how a global war set in motion nearly a century ago continuous to pose the largest and most imminent threat to the world. Decide for yourself ones you have seen Ms. Pipko's evidence, from Russia's quickly growing intelligence apparatus to infiltrations of the CIA and UN. The Russian Factor brings Cold War suspicions into sharp focus. With Simona Pipko's heartfelt voice this book is also an intriguing retelling of a life lived purposefully.

In 2014, Russia illegally annexed Crimea, bolstered a separatist conflict in the Donbas region, and attacked Ukraine with its regular army and special forces. In each instance of Russian aggression, the U.S. response has often been criticized as inadequate, insufficient, or hesitant. The Moscow Factor: U.S. Policy toward Sovereign Ukraine and the Kremlin is a unique study that examines four key Ukraine-related policy decisions across two Republican and two Democratic U.S. administrations. Eugene M. Fishel asks whether, how, and under what circumstances Washington has considered Ukraine’s status as a sovereign nation in its decision-making regarding relations with Moscow. This study situates the stance of the United States toward Ukraine in the broader context of international relations. It fills an important lacuna in existing scholarship and policy discourse by focusing on the complex trilateral—rather than simply bilateral—dynamics between the United States, Ukraine, and Russia from 1991 to 2016. This book brings together for the first time documentary evidence and declassified materials dealing with policy deliberation, retrospective articles authored by former policymakers, and formal memoirs by erstwhile senior officials. The study is also supplemented by open-ended interviews with former and returning officials.

This timely study provides a clear analysis of both the domestic and foreign policies and security issues confronting RussiaOs largest and most important neighbor during its first decade as an independent state. Roman Solchanyk emphasizes throughout the book, the complex, centuries-old Ukrainian-Russian relationship, which is so central that the ORussian questionO plays the determining role in UkraineOs foreign and domestic politics. In turn, the policy choices of UkraineOs leaders influence the direction of RussiaOs own transformation. The book opens with a conceptual framework that addresses the key issues of the Ukrainian-Russian relationship. The initial chapters illustrate how relations between Kyiv and Moscow changed_in the final analysis, dramatically_under the conditions of a crumbling and ultimately collapsing Soviet state. This is followed by a discussion of how the ORussian questionO influences UkraineOs internal developments_political, social, and economic_as well as its behavior in the international arena. The concluding chapters focus specifically on Crimea, a microcosm of the Ukrainian-Russian relationship. Basing his argument on a wealth of primary source material, the author argues that the success of both UkraineOs and RussiaOs nation- and state-building projects will be largely determined by the normalization of their historically conditioned relationship. Indeed, success or failure will profoundly influence the direction of regional and European foreign policy and security.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second International Conference on Online Communities and Social Computing, OCSC 2007, held in Beijing, China, July 2007 in the framework of the 12th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2007. It covers designing and developing on-line communities, as well as knowledge, collaboration, learning and local on-line communities.

An examination of post-Soviet society through ethnic, religious, and linguistic criteria, this volume turns what is typically anthropological subject matter into the basis of politics, sociology, and history. Ten chapters cover such diverse subjects as Ukrainian language revival, Tatar language revival, nationalist separatism and assimilation in Russia, religious pluralism in Russia and in Ukraine, mobilization against Chinese immigration, and even the politics of mapmaking. A few of these chapters are principally historical, connecting tsarist and Soviet constructions to today's systems and struggles. The introduction by Dominique Arel sets out the project in terms of new scholarly approaches to identity, and the conclusion by Blair A. Ruble draws out political and social implications that challenge citizens and policy makers. Rebounding Identities is based on a series of workshops held at the Kennan Institute in 2002 and 2003.

The last five years have proven to be quite tumultuous for Ukraine. The Orange Revolution, as witnessed around the world, sought to overthrow the ancien régime and to replace it with younger, more democratic leaders. At the same time it was a declaration that Ukraine was truly a European nation that duly embraced the democratic values of the west. However, disappointment soon replaced the euphoria of the victory. This volume attempts to show the elements of change and conflict that have arisen since the Orange Revolution and to explain some of Ukraine's challenges today on its meandering path between East and West.

What kind of corporate- and intercultural problems do German companies encounter on the path towards globally operating enterprises? To what extent should they hold on to, adjust or abandon their long-established values and practices in a new business environment? What must they particularly expect while expanding into the Russian market? Ghenadie Anghel delivers answers to these questions on the basis of revealing interviews with general directors and senior executives of 27 Russian subsidiaries of large DAX-listed companies as well as medium-sized hidden champions.

This volume zones in on Russia’s relations with the Indo-Pacific region through the lens of theoretical pluralism, presenting alternatives to the mainstream Realist view of Russia as a major power using geopolitical strategies to establish itself. Russia in the Indo-Pacific is an understudied topic that needs a fresh perspective. Contributors to this volume are based across Russia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the USA, drawing on a range of multinational perspectives and theoretical approaches encompassing realism and liberalism, constructivism and the English school of international relations. Reflecting a trend of internationalization in the Russian study of IR, such theoretical pluralism could facilitate Russian contributions to emerging global IR theory. Russia in the Indo-Pacific contributes towards a more intelligible common discourse in the Indo-Pacific, of interest to students and scholars of Sino-Russian relations, Indo-Pacific international relations, and international relations theory. It will also be of interest to policymakers and general readers following foreign policy and economic trends in the Indo-Pacific who want to better understand Russia's role.

This book is an insightful study of the transition economy, using the little-known case of Belarus, a country “trapped in transition” for almost three decades. The model of state capitalism, so widely internationally known, has different specific roots, metrics and instruments in Belarus. The book outlines several pitfalls facing by the Belarusian economy, all of which lead to long-term economic recession in Belarus.

Based on the diverging interests of Germany and Poland as influential members of the European Union on the Eastern Partnership (EaP), the contributions in the anthology analyse specifics and current problems of the states in EU’s Eastern neighbourhood. By including the interests of Russia and the USA, which go beyond the EU, the geostrategic implications of these relations for the Eurasian region will also be highlighted. The studies of renowned German and Polish experts represent the results of individual research and bilateral exchange on the current state of EU’s relations towards its Eastern neighbours.