Latest Articles about Europe's East
Russia’s Glacial Progress Toward a Professional Army
Since initiating organizational reform in the Armed Forces in 2008, Moscow’s political-military leadership has not placed building a professional military anywhere near the top of its agenda. Indecision on the issue gave way to a compromise: a force mix of 12-month serving conscripts and contract... MORE
Putin Puts Gagauz in Play Against Moldova and the West
By meeting with the leaders of the pro-Moscow Moldovan Socialist Party last week (November 4) (kremlin.ru, November 5), Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent the kind of signal to the Gagauz that they have been waiting for. And therefore, according to Dmitry Konstantinov, Moldova’s Gagauz... MORE
Belarus: Attractive Inside, Not Always Out
No darling of the Western media, Belarus suffers from a peculiar imbalance between two kinds of reporting about it. Much more is written about Belarus’s Soviet legacy and its relationships with external centers of power, Russia and the European Union, than about the actual developments... MORE
Secessionist Leaders in Ukraine’s East Step up Political Demands in the Wake of Elections
The armistice agreements, signed on September 5 and 19–20, remain basically unimplemented on the Russian side, politically and militarily. Russia’s proxy forces have “de-escalated” their attacks on Ukrainian positions, but continue attacking at a lower level of intensity, inflicting Ukrainian casualties. Russia itself is far... MORE
Annexation of Crimea Spurs Cooperation between Crimean Tatars and Circassians
Having annexed the Crimean peninsula, Russia unintentionally accelerated the laying of groundwork for cooperation between the Crimean Tatars and the Circassians, according to Circassian activist Andzor Kabard. The Circassian Rights Initiative, a Turkish organization, took the first steps to establish closer contacts with the Crimean... MORE
Putin Goes to China, but Fails to Turn His Illusions Into Reality
In a case of striking symbolism, President Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, as if seeking reassurance against the specter of a mass public uprising. The dismantling of that icon of the Cold War signified... MORE
Two Battalions of Chechens Now Fighting the Russians in Ukraine
Reading the Ukrainian media earlier this year gave one the impression that Ukraine was fighting not Russia, but Chechnya (vesti.ru, May 28). Few doubted that Chechens were fighting on the Russian side in eastern Ukraine, but their numbers were greatly exaggerated. The deployment of Russian... MORE
Ukrainian President to Form ‘Pro-European Coalition’
The parties of President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk won an early parliamentary election on October 26 and have started talks on forming a new governing coalition. As radicals of all kinds lost the election, Ukraine now has a chance to obtain a... MORE
Social and Political Trends in the Russian-Controlled Donbas
The unrecognized “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk (“DPR,” “LPR”) elected would-be presidents and legislatures on November 2, in territories seized from Ukraine (see accompanying article). The decision to proceed with these elections came undoubtedly from Moscow and it signifies (inter alia) a temporary suspension... MORE
Donetsk, Luhansk ‘People’s Republics’ Stage Elections in Ukraine’s Donbas
On November 2, the Russian-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” (“DPR, LPR”) in Ukraine’s Donbas (eastern region encompassing the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces) staged “presidential” and “legislative” elections for the first time. These were conducted in the presence of Russian and proxy troops on what... MORE