Latest Articles about Europe
Russian Cossacks’ Integration With the State
As Russia’s illegal re-invasion of Ukraine continues, a number of ramifications extend to the Russian domestic political scene with some, such as Yale University historian Timothy Snyder, positing on the incredible rise of the far right in Russia. Even so, the Cossacks appear to be... MORE
Russian ‘Referendums’ Delayed, Ukrainian Resistance Mounting in Occupied Kherson and Zaporyzhzhia (Part Two)
Armed resistance within the occupied territory, coupled with Ukrainian army counterattacks along the front lines, have compelled Moscow to postpone the “referendums” for annexing Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporyzhzhia regions to Russia (see EDM, September 8). Ukrainian armed resistance has grown in intensity in recent months.... MORE
Putin Has Unsheathed His Energy Weapon Too Early—and Too Late
In early September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin spelled out his intention to punish Europe for resisting Russia’s assault on the world order and supporting Ukraine louder and clearer than ever before. Speaking at the high session of an economic forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Putin... MORE
Spy Scandal in Albania: Could Russian Intelligence Be Using Bloggers?
On August 20, two Russians and a Ukrainian were arrested in Albania as they tried to enter a defunct military factory in the city of Gramsci. According to Albanian authorities, the detainees were trying to film the factory, and one of them, Mikhail Zorin, sprayed... MORE
With the Killing of Darya Dugina, Putin Finds Critical Corollaries to Stalin
The murder of Darya Dugina—the daughter of Aleksandr Dugin, who many view as the instigator for some of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s more aggressive and expansionist ideas—in Moscow on August 20 has sparked three sets of questions: Was her father the real target? Who was... MORE
Russian ‘Referendums’ Delayed, Ukrainian Resistance Mounting in Occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia (Part One)
As anticipated well ahead of the curve (see EDM, July 21, 22), Russia has missed the September 11 target date for staging annexation “referendums” in Ukraine’s occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Moscow and the local authorities it installed in both regions waited until early September... MORE
Gosplan 2.0: Is Russia Taking Another Step Toward a Planned Economy?
On July 15, speaking during a session of the Russian State Duma, Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov elaborated on the need to take a turn “from absolutist market-type industrial policy toward a policy aimed at securing [Russia`s] industrial sovereignty.” In his speech, Manturov said that... MORE
Belarusians at Home and Abroad Are Growing Apart
Musings of two Belarusian historians, Yury Shevtsov and Alexander Bely, symbolize the current condition of Belarusians’ cultural divide. Both consider the 1596 emergence of the Uniate Church, preserving the Eastern rite and discipline but submitting to papal authority, an important hallmark in Belarusian history. Yet,... MORE
Chechen Fighters in Ukraine Set Sights on Homeland
The Russo-Ukrainian War, now entering its seventh month, has dramatically altered the dynamics of intra-Chechen politics and, rather unexpectedly, brought the half-forgotten issue of Chechnya’s difficult, often adversarial relations with Moscow to the fore. Even preceding the Kremlin’s re-invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022,... MORE
Moscow’s Attacks on Western Analysts Backfire Again
In the USSR’s final years, Soviet propagandists and analysts routinely attacked the works of Western writers as being those of “bourgeois falsifiers,” arguing that their books and articles were fictitious because the ideas presented were at odds with Marxism-Leninism and Moscow’s position on most subjects.... MORE