Latest Articles about Domestic/Social

Belarus and the War: A Survey and a Morality Debate
In Warsaw, on April 26, the head of the non-governmental organization Belarusian Analytical Workroom, Andrei Vardomatsky, described the outcome of his group’s telephone poll of 1,000 Belarusians conducted in mid-March. Of those surveyed, just 24 percent pinned responsibility for sparking the war in Ukraine on... MORE

The Economic Aspect of Russia’s War in Ukraine: Sanctions, Implications, Complications (Part Three)
*To read Part One, please click here. *To read Part Two, please click here. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine pushed the world’s largest, most advanced economies to introduce several rounds of economic sanctions against the Russian Federation (Meduza, March 8). Russia’s energy sector (a key pillar of... MORE

Kremlin Forces Change of Foreign Minister in Uzbekistan After ‘Ukraine Comments’
On April 27, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev promoted Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov to the position of first deputy foreign minister and assigned him the responsibilities of the foreign minister of the country. Despite reports of deteriorating health, the outgoing foreign minister, Abdulaziz Kamilov, 74,... MORE

War in Ukraine Coming Home to Russia, Making It Harder for Moscow to Fill the Ranks
As Russian losses in Ukraine mount and resistance in the Russian army to being deployed there increases (Mediazona [1] [2], April 6), Moscow faces growing difficulties with mobilizing soldiers to fill the gaps. This problem is especially acute in places where the funerals of those... MORE

Ukrainian Guerillas: Fighting Russians in Temporarily Occupied Territories
On April 22, General Rustam Minnekayev, the acting commander of the Central Military District, announced that one of the goals of the second phase of Russia’s “special military operation in Ukraine” is to gain full control of Donbas and Ukraine’s south. According to him, achieving... MORE

Russia Halts Gas Supplies to Poland and Bulgaria: Short-Term Calm, Long-Term Anxieties
On April 27, Russia’s Gazprom completely suspended natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria under long-term contracts that were supposed to be valid through the end of 2022. The move was explained by Gazprom as a necessity, as the Russian gas importers in both countries... MORE

Escalation of Lies and Threats Leaves Putin With Two Bad Choices
The deadlocked war with Ukraine has pushed Russia into an irreconcilable dilemma: it can neither accept reality nor keep denying it. This contradiction can be seen both in the official discourse on the unfolding disaster and the societal response to it. As one example, rampant... MORE

Georgians Support Euro-Atlantic Integration and Want Visa Regime for Russians
On April 21, a United States Congressional delegation arrived in Georgia, as part of a wider European trip, to “discuss the strengthening of the Transatlantic alliance.” In addition to the South Caucasus country, the US lawmakers, all members of the Democratic Party, also visited France... MORE

Nuclear Escalation and Russian Propaganda: Conjuring a Crisis
While continuing its armed assault on the battlefields of Donbas, the Kremlin is boosting its attacks against Ukraine on the information front as well. Russian propaganda’s continuing dehumanization of Ukraine and the West, which backs the Ukrainian defense efforts, is being used to justify increasingly... MORE

Gagauzia Now a Bellwether of Putin’s Broader Military Intentions
Over the last 30 years, Moscow has frequently sought to use the Christian Turkic Gagauz in Moldova, along with separatist Transnistria, as leverage to prevent or reverse Chisinau’s moves toward further integration with Romania and Europe (see EDM, January 27). But in recent days, with... MORE