A NOTE: Our Russia-Ukraine Resources are updated weekly - if you're accessing the page a week or more past the below date, pieces mentioned in this post may have been removed to make room for up-to-date resources.
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Updated Resources - January 10, 2024
Booths for secret voting in the presidential elections in Russia. March 18, 2018 (Newspaper "Number One" photographer Petr Sanzhiev, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Kyiv Independent: Newsfeed
Novaya Gazeta Europe: Newsfeed
The Insider: Newsfeed
The Telegraph via Apple Podcasts - Ukraine: The Latest
The impact of elections in the West extend beyond national borders. Voters in Des Moines precincts 44, 58 and 59 cast their ballots at Callanan Middle School. ("Election Day 2020" by Phil Roeder is licensed under CC BY 2.0)
WHAT'S ON OUR MIND
In addition to our weekly resource update, today we also offer an updated collection of pieces on the Israeli-Hamas war.
In 2024 more than 40 national elections will take place around the world, marking a rare alignment in the annals of global democracy. For some four billion people - roughly half of humanity’s total population - these elections will shape daily life and future prospects, and for many, including Ukrainians, the decisions made on ballots thousands of miles away will transcend national borders. Today, we offer insights into the coming electoral year and its implications for the Ukraine War. Some of these pieces are a bit older - we chose to save them until we could offer a collection with greater breadth.
We open with a brief summary of 2024’s most globally impactful political contests, as outlined in The New Yorker. Foreign Policy examines impending political and economic shifts and their potential impact on the Ukraine War’s outcome. From Reuters, a brief explainer on Russia’s 2024 presidential election and the country’s electoral process. Russia.Post offers greater detail and nuance on the Russian election, providing historical context as well as insight into the current political atmosphere.
Despite Ukraine’s apparent decision to shelve the 2024 presidential election following months of debate, Wilson Center provides a comprehensive analysis of what such an election would mean for the embattled country. Though slightly out of date, it offers valuable insights into the embattled country’s multifaceted dilemma over holding wartime elections.
Next we explore varying perspectives on the ramifications of Russia’s presidential election. The Guardian and The Moscow Times posit that Putin will use the election to reinforce popular perception of his strength, shifting the Russians’ attention to domestic issues like economic health and the cultural shift towards ultra-conservatism. Foreign Affairs positions the upcoming election as a validation of autocracy and perpetual conflict with the West, exploring the important role that elections - even those with a foregone conclusion - still play within Russia. A Ukrainian perspective on Russia’s election from The Kyiv Independent offers a critical lens. Meduza compiles the reactions of legislators, pro-Kremlin media figures, and the opposition to Putin’s bid for a fifth term in office.
On the subject of opposition, Meduza goes on to detail a subterfuge campaign from Team Navalny that reached Russian billboards in December, outlining the opposition’s overarching strategy and discord amongst their ranks. A report from ABC News introduces the first two candidates to join Putin on the ballot as approved by Russia’s national elections commission, Leonid Slutsky and Vladislav Davankov. Finally, Al Jazeera and The Insider profiles Yekaterina Duntsova, a former television journalist turned opposition figure whose application for candidacy was rejected by Russia’s Central Electoral Commission.
In the overview, a retrospective on American diplomatic recognition of Ukraine and The Kyiv Independent’s ten books for greater understanding of the war. Find also a nuclear year in review. In videos, a Ukrainian perspective on the war’s origins. In the arts, a British-Swedish writer and photographer’s poetic reconciliation with a near miss in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Russian stand-up comics navigate the wartime landscape, and a Ukrainian-born singer’s rise and fall from grace in Russia.
Find these stories - and many more - in today’s Russia-Ukraine update. Visit our blog for new resources on the Israel-Hamas War.
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