Latest Articles about Domestic/Social

Lukashenka Explains the Russian Tactical Nukes
On March 31, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka delivered his annual address to the Belarusian people and parliament (President.gov.by, March 31). A week earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced that Moscow would deploy tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory (see EDM, March 27). The announcement... MORE

Empire as Catastrophe: A Philosophical Reevaluation of the Russian State
Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has been going on for more than a year, has caused deep reflection among Russian-speaking intellectuals from different countries and has even led them to Nietzsche's "revaluation of all values." At the beginning of 2023, Mikhail Epstein, philosopher and professor... MORE

CCP Narratives on Taiwan at the Two Sessions: Maintaining a “Measured Hardline”
Introduction In tandem with its increasingly provocative coercive military measures directed against Taiwan, throughout the course of 2022, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) also ramped up its accompanying rhetoric. The PRC vigorously reasserted its irredentist sovereignty claims, decried alleged “separatist” activities by Taiwan’s political... MORE

Belarus and Iran: Minsk Goes Where Doors Are Open
On March 12 and 13, just ten days after his state visit to China (see EDM, March 16), Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka paid an official visit to Iran. For similar reasons with the visit to Beijing—that is, widespread speculation that Minsk might be joining Russian-Iranian... MORE

With Moscow’s Encouragement, Iran Moves More Deeply Into Russia Than Ever Before
Not surprisingly, given Russia’s war against Ukraine, Iran’s decision to supply Moscow with drones and other military technology has attracted some of the most attention around the world (Cursorinfo.co.il, March 30). And equally unsurprising, given the long-term consequences of any change in east-west and north-south... MORE

A Closer Look at Belarus’s New Political Party and Its Leader
On March 18, the pro-presidential social movement “Belaya (White) Rus” became a political party. This decision was made by the organization’s inaugural congress in its new capacity. The respective aspirations have been repeatedly voiced since 2008—that is, almost from the very foundation of Belaya Rus.... MORE

Putin’s Regime Is Acquiring Features of Nazism
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Vladimir Putin regime has been increasingly compared to Hitler’s Nazi Germany. At the end of last year, the Russian television channel Dozhd (now based in the Netherlands and known as “TV Rain”) released a long... MORE

Going Beyond Mercenaries: Is Prigozhin Preparing for a Power Struggle in Russia? (Part Two)
*Read Part One. Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, launched on February 24, 2022, has elevated the public image and even popularity of the notorious Wagner Group and its sponsor Yevgeny Prigozhin in Russia. A combination of factors—a more sophisticated recruiting approach, an expanded... MORE

Moldovan Government Finally Burns Bridges to Russia (Part Two)
*Read Part One. Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s March 17 speech represents the official launch of Moldova’s reconstructed policy toward Russia. The lengthy address was delivered in Parliament but was explicitly intended for the country at large. Some of its line items had been voiced by... MORE

Moldovan Government Finally Burns Bridges to Russia (Part One)
Moldovan President Maia Sandu and her Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), in power since 2020 and 2021, respectively, are executing a full reversal of their erstwhile policy toward Russia. That policy had sought a modus vivendiwith Moscow and, by extension, to broaden the party’s... MORE