Vilhelm Konnander

I am a Swedish specialist on politics and security in Russia and “Eastern Europe.” I have been dealing with the region on and off since the early 1990s and been around quite a lot.

At Vilhelm Konnander's Weblog I blog about all the thoughts and reflections within my field that I need to get out of my system. No wonder, given the theme of my blog: Politics & Security in Russia, Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asia. On Twitter @vkonnander.

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Latest posts by Vilhelm Konnander

Russia: Paving Political Potholes

Say the word "roads" to most Russians, and you are likely to end up with a half-hour discussion. Throughout history, Russia has been infamous for its bad road quality. However, now the city of Yekaterinburg seems to have come up with a solution to the problem, by making bureaucrats get down to work.

Latvia: Flagging for Free Speech

  27 February 2012

Juris Kaža of Free Speech Emergency in Latvia reports that Latvian security police has closed an investigation into an Internet call to desecrate the Latvian flag, which is illegal in the country. The case was closed as there was no evidence of any victim of flag burning.

Russia: Oligarchs Day in Court

  19 January 2012

John Helmer of Dances With Bears accounts for the legal battle over business interests between Russian business tycoons Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich, which is about to be finalised by the London High Court.

Russia: Kremlin Crisis Management

  19 January 2012

Ania Viver of Foreign Policy Blogs posts an interesting analysis on the Kremlin's attempts at calming down popular protests against the Russian leadership, and tries to explain why they fail in their crisis management.

Ukraine: Poisonous Politics

  19 January 2012

LEvko of Foreign Notes addresses how reports about the possible poisoning of jailed opposition politician and ex-PM, Yulia Timoshenko, proliferate and remind people of the scars poison left on former president president Yushchenko.

Ukraine: Trial By Jury Underway

  19 January 2012

Odessablog's Blog writes about an upcoming government bill on a new criminal procedure code for Ukraine, which would long overdue introduce the constitutionally guaranteed right to trial by jury into the country's legal system.

Hungary: Culture Purge Proceeds

  19 January 2012

Hungarian Watch reports how yet another figurehead of Hungarian culture, György Szabó, has been ousted by authorities as director of the Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, making him yet another in an increasing row of deposed cultural representatives.

Russia: Moscow Population Cuts

  17 January 2012

Kyle Keeton of Windows to Russia reports that the Moscow government is planning to reduce the number of people residing in over-crowded central Moscow, hoping for people moving to suburbs and surrounding cities.

Russia: Making A Run For It

  17 January 2012

Andy Young of Siberian Light reports that opposition politicians Mikhail Prokhorov and Grigory Yavlinsky have now collected the two million signatures needed for running for Russia's presidency in the upcoming 4 March elections, and portrays the complexities of collecting signatures in support of a candidacy.

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