As the tanks rolled off Moscow’s Red Square last Wednesday (June 24), the Russian propaganda machine instantly switched from glorifying extra-modern militarism to trumpeting the next pivotal political event—the public vote on the package of amendments to the constitution, which began on June 25 and... MORE

Moldova is experiencing a phenomenon that deserves to be termed Plahotniucism without Plahotniuc; at least not up front. From distant safe havens, the fugitive former ruler Vladimir Plahotniuc and his fellow-billionaire Ilan Shor are widely believed, with a high degree of plausibility, to be financing... MORE

The Russian authorities and some environmental groups in Poland and Germany have opposed the digging of a canal across the southern, Polish portion of the Vistula Spit since the idea was first proposed in 2004. But now the project, slated to be complete by 2022,... MORE

President Vladimir Putin has transformed the May 9 military parade on Moscow’s Red Square, which commemorates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in May 1945, into a grand public relations extravaganza. In Soviet times, the main annual military parade occurred on November 7—the anniversary of... MORE

Relations between Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have long been complicated, sometimes even uncertain. From hopes for membership after the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, to effectively declaring Ukraine neutral during Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency; from the reactivation of a Euro-Atlantic integration course... MORE

Perhaps never has the flow of events in Minsk been as dynamic and captivating as at present. Moreover, available sources of information have dramatically diversified as online social networks and Telegram channels gained prominence to supplement traditional media outlets. As a case in point: On... MORE

Russian authorities rarely resort to such old-fashioned means of communication as written articles. Yet, last week, three key figures in the top leadership—President Vladimir Putin, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, and former prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, who now holds the newly established position of deputy... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here.   A deeper look at Romania’s new national defense strategy, taken up for consideration by the parliament on June 3, provides some answers as to why Russia’s reaction to this 46-page planning document has been so aggressive (see... MORE

The electoral campaign in Belarus is developing like the plot of a mystery novel. Two obstacles seem to stand in the way of its impartial description: the sheer number of new developments and groupthink. The former makes it difficult to see the forest for the... MORE

Circassians both in their North Caucasus homeland and in the diaspora are uniting to oppose the possibility of the amalgamation of the Republic of Adygea with the surrounding Krasnodar Krai. Members of the community view such a step as an attack on their nation. Their... MORE