PhD Candidate in Politics, University of Oxford
Liana Semchuk is a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford, Nuffield College specializing in contemporary East European politics, and issues pertaining to post-Soviet economy, oligarchs, money laundering, and institutional corruption. Her PhD dissertation empirically explores the origins and causes of the Donbas conflict.
Belarus: whether or not Putin is behind the border crisis, it plays into Kremlin hands
Nov 13, 2021 07:36 am UTC| Politics
The migrant crisis on Belaruss western border has escalated rapidly in recent days, forcing Poland and Lithuania to declare a state of emergency and close the borders with their neighbour. With 15,000 Polish border...
Belarus: targeting of critics likely to intensify as Lukashenko expands his reach
Aug 06, 2021 10:20 am UTC| Insights & Views
Nearly one year after the presidential election that plunged Belarus into a crisis of political legitimacy, persecution of government critics and activists appears to be on the rise. Two recent incidents a Belarusian...
Kidnapping of Roman Protasevich will force pariah Belarus more firmly into Russia's orbit
May 28, 2021 11:10 am UTC| Politics
The taking of journalist Roman Protasevich from a commercial airline flight has further estranged Belarus from an outraged west and will force the country deeper under the influence of an increasingly powerful Russian...
Russia: Alexei Navalny's return adds spice to an already challenging year for Vladimir Putin
Jan 19, 2021 04:48 am UTC| Politics
Political commentators both inside Russia and around the world are comparing Alexei Navalnys return to Moscow with Vladimir Lenins sealed train journey from Switzerland to St Petersburg in April 1917. It was eight-day...
Ukraine: window opens for peace in the Donbas after Volodymyr Zelensky agrees to election plan
Oct 04, 2019 14:44 pm UTC| Insights & Views
As the war in eastern Ukraine drags into its sixth year, all the attempts to end it have so far failed. But in a significant development on October 1, Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced his provisional...
Ukraine: US arms sales making big business money while ordinary people pay the price
Apr 01, 2019 17:29 pm UTC| Insights & Views
Selling lethal weapons to Ukraine is the equivalent of pouring kerosene onto a flame. But ongoing hostilities between Ukraine and Russia including the Kerch strait crisis, which began late last year when Russia...
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