As an international relations analyst, I observed the Ukrainian events of November 2013-February 2014 closely. At the moment, I am analysing Russia's aggressive response to these events. What I see beyond the surface of facts and analyses is a constant dispute about whether the widely-understood new media played a constructive role in these events.

When we made arrangements for this panel six weeks ago I proposed the topic entitled “The Second World War II in Serbia Today”. Meanwhile, in a matter of days a complete change of “the past” occurred and the First World War completely suppressed the second one; the emotions, goals and purpose of the use of history were completely transformed. Serbia was engulfed in great emotional tension, as if the July Crisis of 1914 were in full swing, the war was just about to begin and we faced the great uncertainty of the first global military conflict, with Serbia surrounded by enemies.

The Ukrainian crisis highlights how the United States is constrained to a role imploring others to help solve geopolitical problems in spaces where it only signals its desires. Thus, increased European resolve and a strengthened Euro-Atlantic partnership are the only ways to protect governments from future malevolent Russian meddling.

On May 25th, the Ukrainians will elect a new president. Although as recently as late 2013 Petro Poroshenko was seen as potential candidate for president his chances were seen as bleak. Today, few believe that he cannot win.

After all that has happened in Crimea, Moldova is now finding itself more and more at the centre of Europe and Russia’s attention. Last year, most Moldovans thought that Russia had forgotten about Transnistria and European rhetoric about the Transnistrian conflict was just “something that had to be mentioned”. Then nobody had thought that Ukraine would reverse its European route and nobody imagined that Crimea would de facto become a part of Russia. Today things have changed beyond anyone’s expectations.

Romania, historically one of the world’s main energy producers, became a net importer of oil and gas in the 1970s when production started to declined. However, Romania is still luckier than other Central and Eastern European countries in terms of energy dependence. With regards to natural gas supplies, about 75 per cent are produced domestically, and the rest is imported. To compare, all of its neighbours – Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria – are almost completely dependent on imported gas from one source: Russia.

The protests initiated on November 21st 2013 in Kyiv, widely known as the EuroMaidan, were primarily of a political nature: they were a reaction to the Ukrainian government’s failure to sign the Association and Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, since a decisive “European” turn in Ukraine’s political course had been the protesters’ expectation. Nevertheless, the popular upheaval very quickly spread to other regions and uncovered deeper motives, and it touched on unsolved questions that were pending since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991: Ukraine’s identity.

Jewish Poland Revisited. Heritage Tourism in Unquiet Places. By: Erica T. Lehrer. Indiana University Press, 2013.