Daugavpils: A Complicated Latvian Future Haunted By The Soviet Past
byI’m aboard the Riga-Daugavpils train, and we’re rattling along in an unhurried way from Latvia’s capital to its second-largest city; a distance of roughly…
Viewpoint
Viewpoint is the UpNorth commentary and opinion section.
Twisted Muses: Hitler’s and Putin’s Pianists
byFifty years ago, a white haired woman stood on a stage in Bad Godesberg, a small town south of Germany’s Cold War capital, Bonn….
Sofi Oksanen in Toronto: How History Is Falsified – Deportations in the Politics of Russia and the Soviet Union
bySofi Oksanen’s speech at the Toronto Conference on Repressions and Human Rights: Commemorating the 1949 Baltic Deportations. From an early age I wanted to…
A Premonition
byAt first you don’t notice it, but then, really, even to the contrary. The central figure on the painting reminds you of Putin. It…
March 16 Rolls Round Again in Riga
byAs another March 16 prepares to roll around, exactly the same sequence of events as usual is set to unfold – hopefully. Because any…
Urmas Paet: The Finns have no illusions regarding Russia but are self-reliant for their security
byOver the past few days, questions regarding the divergent Finnish and Estonian directions on relations with Russia have reemerged and whether the differences in…
Hannah Arendt, Putin and Today’s Russia
byHannah Arendt would have found a lot to dislike about today’s Russia. But she would have loved Pussy Riot. Hannah Arendt teaches us that…
Timeline: The Nordic Roots of The Charlie Hebdo Massacre
byUSE YOUR MOUSE OR FINGER TO SCROLL THROUGH THE UPNORTH INTERACTIVE TIMELINE ABOVE In September 2005, Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten became the first western publication…
Should he stay or should he go?
byIt’s hard to know precisely why everyone is being so coy about what is a very simple question – should President Andris Bērziņš attend May…
President Putin Says He Is Clueless about Economic Policy
byA financial meltdown has ravaged Russia in the last two weeks in a fashion reminiscent of 2008 and 1998. The value of the ruble…