Former Yukos shareholders are seeking financial recovery from Russia in the amount of 50 billion dollars in accordance with the decision of the Arbitration Court in The Hague.  This refers to Russian assets seized in France.  The amount of one billion euros is roughly 86 billion rubles.   This information is according to the RBC daily newspaper with reference to Group MENATEP Limited (GML), a holding company representing the former shareholders of Yukos.

The ventures of the Federal State …

On the 28th of February 2014, the leaders of Ukraine attended an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) in order to determine how the country should react to Russia’s actions. The participants of the meeting concluded that Russia was ready for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2014. During that time, Russia was carrying out the occupation of Crimea with the use of Special Forces.

Regarding the eastern border of Ukraine, 38,000 Russian servicemen with …

Every year, on the 21st of February, International Mother Language Day is celebrated worldwide. About a half of the 6,000 world languages are threatened with extinction. The Crimean Tatar language is the third most spoken language in Ukraine. However, despite this fact, according to the official data of UNESCO, the language is quickly dying, as reported by Radio Svoboda.

Now, some media, universities and activists have taken on the challenge of bringing the language back to life. Newspapers …

The representative of Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest, Jamala, will perform her song entitled "1944" about the deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet regime during World War II. Viewers and judges voted for Jamala to perform the song.

The song is sung in English with a refrain in the Crimean Tatar language. According to Jamala, whose real name is Susana Jamaladinova, the song was inspired by her great-grandmother's experiences during the deportation.

"That terrible year changed …

The Czech Republic plans to send 100 soldiers to NATO’s eastern flank to support the alliance's borders with Russia. This was announced on Sunday, February 21st, by Czech Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky, as reported by Reuters.

"We are talking about a company of soldiers, about nearly a hundred people who would join the contingent of the Alliance," Stropnicky said on Czech television, adding that the troops will arrive in Poland and the Baltic states later this year.

On February 10th, the …

According to a statement published on the website of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the Ministry’s head, Andriy Pyvovarsky, has assured the EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Jan Tombiński, that Russian trucks will be allowed to pass through the country.

As it was noted in the statement, during the meeting that was held on the 19th of February, Tombiński relayed the concerns expressed by the Western partners of Ukraine, as most of the products which are transported through Ukraine are …

Georgia has high hopes for closer economic cooperation with Iran after international sanctions were lifted. Recently, Tbilisi abolished the visa regime with Iran, hoping to increase the flow of tourists from the south. Up until September 2014, tourists from Iran were bringing approximately 100 million dollars a year into Georgia.

Soon Georgia will also import Iranian gas, and a preliminary agreement was reached during a visit to Tehran with the Georgian Energy Minister, Kakha Kaladze.

Iran …

On February 21st, Polish TV Channel TVN24 broadcasted the controversial documentary film The Masks of the Revolution during the program Eva Evart Advises. The director of the film is French journalist Paul Moreira. This documentary film depicts  the events in the Kiev Euromaidan movement as a riot started by radical nationalists. The film is full of allusions to the leading role of the US in the events in Kiev two years ago. It hints at the fact that the Russian annexation of Crimea was …