Latest Articles about Europe's East

Ukraine Relying on IMF Payments for Russian Gas Purchase

Ukraine finds it increasingly difficult to survive without money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country paid Russia for October’s gas deliveries with IMF funds and the same means will be used for November’s gas deliveries. However, the IMF did not disburse the fourth... MORE

Ukrainian Presidential Candidate Yulia Tymoshenko’s Foreign Policy

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s 2010 presidential election program is entitled “Ukraine will be victorious. Ukraine that is you” and includes a strong emphasis on Ukraine’s integration into Europe. Tymoshenko’s election program is available, as with other registered presidential candidates, on the Central Election Commission web... MORE

Will Flu Spoil Tymoshenko’s Election Campaign?

A flu epidemic which recently erupted in Ukraine may derail the presidential election campaign. As the major parties try to use the epidemic to their advantage, the situation threatens to spiral out of control because the media hype is causing panic to spread faster than... MORE

Minsk Forum Raises New Questions

The Minsk Forum has become a regular feature of the late fall in the Belarusian capital. Each November, an increasingly large gathering –including diplomats, politicians, academics, and business people from more than 20 countries this year– assembles to discuss a variety of issues, with its... MORE

Electoral Populism in Ukraine Prevails over Economic Wisdom

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on November 2 called Ukraine “a big problem” when asked about the situation in Central and Eastern Europe as the region worst hit by the global crisis. Recent steps in the economy aimed to “buy” voters ahead... MORE

Russia Accepts Pro-Western Candidate for Moldova’s Presidency

Russia currently holds a greater degree of relevance and influence in Moldovan politics than at any time during the eight years of nominal communist rule (2001-2009) and indeed since 1991 in that country. Russia’s growing political role is a direct result of Moldova’s indecisive parliamentary... MORE

Russia Emerging as a Factor in Moldova’s Internal Politics

From October 30 to November 1 the Moldovan parliamentary majority’s candidate for head of state, Western-oriented Marian Lupu, as well as the communist opposition leader, and former head of state (2001-2009) Vladimir Voronin, undertook parallel visits to Moscow upon invitations there. Such a turn of... MORE

Poroshenko Starts to Mend Fences with Russia

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko visited Moscow on October 23. Appointed earlier this month, Poroshenko views rapprochement with Russia as one of his main goals, and he made a point of saying what Moscow wanted to hear during his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei... MORE

Opinion Poll Reveals the Impact of the Global Recession on Belarus

A synopsis of the latest opinion poll (September 2009) conducted in Belarus by the Independent Institute of Social-Economic and Political Research has been published on the Institute’s website (www.iiseps.org). The Charter 97 website issued a press release, which maintained that given a choice, Belarusians would... MORE