Latest Articles about Baltics
Russia Reels From New Post-Vilnius Challenges
The outcome of the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11 and 12 left the Russian leadership confused and anxious. The controversial issue on Ukraine’s membership in the alliance was left pending, as had been planned. Thus, some official mouthpieces in Moscow and many “patriotic-military”... MORE
A Vilnius Boost for the Ukrainian Offensive
The summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11 and 12 will likely not produce any sensational joint decisions; it is set, nevertheless, to signify a major step in reconfiguring and reinforcing the European security system. Russia’s aggression against... MORE
The True Lack of Regionalism Explains the Failure of Anti-Kremlin Military Projects
The weekend mutiny launched by Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner Group will have numerous wide-ranging consequences that analysts are still trying to sort out. However, more attention should be drawn to the fact that one of main reasons for this insurrection’s rapid failure was the... MORE
Ethnic Russian Identity in Post-Soviet Space Not as Fixed as Moscow Thinks
Ethnic Russians in the former Soviet republics are declining in number not only because of flight and an excess of deaths over births among them but also because some in these communities are increasingly identifying with the titular nation and even assimilating with it. This... MORE
Latvia and Estonia Agree to Joint Acquisition of IRIS-T Air Defense Systems
Latvia, together with Estonia, is undertaking the largest military procurement project since the restoration of independence in acquiring the IRIS-T air defense system from Germany. In late May 2023, these plans were made public by Latvian Minister of Defense Ināra Mūrniece and Estonian Minister of... MORE
New Rumors on Lukashenka’s Ill Health and What Really Matters
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka may soon be repeating these words that are commonly attributed to Mark Twain. Less than two weeks after unsubstantiated rumors about Lukashenka’s health condition subsided (see EDM, May 24), a new rumor captured... MORE
Latvia Reinstitutes Conscription Amid Calls to Strengthen National and Regional Security
On April 19, the legislation that provides for Latvia’s return to military conscription came into force as adopted by the Latvian Parliament and ratified by Latvian President Egils Levits (Labdien.lv, April 19). The compulsory National Defense Service will be introduced gradually—the first cohort of enlistees... MORE
Belarus and Its Neighbors in a Time of War: Attitudes, Perceptions and Realities
As a relatively small country squeezed between two increasingly antagonistic centers of power, Russia and the European Union, Belarus has always stood out for its dependency on multifaceted external factors. The war in Ukraine has exacerbated this dependency and added new aspects to it. Thus,... MORE
ICC’s Arrest Warrant for Putin Divides Post-Soviet Space
In the three decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 14 independent states of the post-Soviet era have been forced to improvise their policies vis-à-vis the Russian Federation. These measures range from the Baltic states’ total repudiation of the Soviet experience by joining... MORE
Can Muscovy Be Considered a ‘State-Civilization’?
On March 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the new Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation (Kremlin.ru, March 31). The previous version had been adopted seven years ago; but even then, in 2016, its wording was significantly more diplomatic than the current document. Moscow’s... MORE