On October 27, several thousand gathered in downtown Elista, the capital of Russia’s Buddhist republic of Kalmykia, to protest the appointment of Dmitry Trapeznikov as mayor of the city. Trapeznikov is a former politician from the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), one of the two... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. The collapse of Moldova’s governing coalition (in office from June to November 2019) puts an end to joint governance by political and cultural opposites—an experiment unprecedented for fractured Moldova and without par in contemporary Europe (see Part One... MORE

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s October 20 interview, in which he referred to three wars that raged in Belarus as “not our wars,” continues to reverberate in both Russian and Belarusian media and social networks. A reprimand to Lukashenka issued by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (see... MORE

On November 12, Moldovan President Igor Dodon’s Socialist Party joined forces with the opposition Democratic Party (formerly led by the now-fugitive tycoon Vladimir Plahotniuc) to overthrow the ACUM (“NOW”) bloc–led government of Prime Minister Maia Sandu in a parliamentary vote of no confidence (see EDM,... MORE

Today, on November 12, the pro-Russian Socialists’ Party of Moldova (PSRM) dismissed the reformist government in Chisinau led by Maia Sandu (Deutsche Welle—Romanian edition, November 12), following a no-confidence vote they initiated on Friday, November 8 (Deschide.md, November 8). In this effort, the PSRM was... MORE

Stability has always been the main promise legitimizing Vladimir Putin’s monopolization of political power in Russia. Restoration of stability was the winning slogan for Putin in 2012, in claiming the presidency back from his pliant stand-in, Dmitry Medvedev, who had tried to experiment with modernization.... MORE

Moldovan President Igor Dodon had an informal meeting, on November 3, with Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of the Russia-backed separatist region of Transnistria (Europalibera.org, November 4). Dodon is a pro-Russian politician and the de facto leader of Moldova’s Socialist Party (PSRM). The two reportedly met,... MORE

Last week, October 28, Czech President Miloš Zeman welcomed a delegation of representatives of a pro-Russian organization of Crimean Tatars. During the meeting, he reportedly declared that Crimea is part of Russia (Radio Prague, October 31)—exactly what Moscow wants to hear. The Czech president’s spokesperson... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. On October 30–31, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) main political decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council (at the ambassadorial level), visited Ukraine for a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg led the delegation... MORE

Ambassadors from the North Atlantic Council— the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) principal political decision-making body—visited Ukraine, on October 30–31, for a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the Commission’s meeting, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who led the delegation,... MORE