Bulgarian state institutions compete in disseminating falsehoods.

A review of House of Trump, House of Putin. The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia. By: Craig Unger. Publisher: Transworld Publishers, London, 2018.

Buying a doctorate may sound surprising. Unfortunately Ukraine has a well-developed market with dissertations.

Buildings covered in glass have become a symbol of transparency and reform in Georgia. They have also become associated with a man who has placed himself above all that happens in Tbilisi.

LGBTI issues are becoming a fig leaf hiding corruption within the political class of EU member states Bulgaria and Romania.

An interview with Ilya Zaslavskiy, head of research at the Free Russia Foundation. Interviewer: Olena Babakova

OLENA BABAKOVA: After the United States introduced new sanctions against Russian oligarchs in April this year, the value of their companies collapsed and the exchange rates of the rouble sky rocketed. The West showed, once again, that it can still exert pressure on Russia. Is this a long-term problem for the Russian economy or has it already learnt how to adapt to such restrictions?

ILYA ZASLAVSKIY: I think we should examine whether the Kremlin and its business circles adapted to the western sanctions or whether the economy as a whole adapted. The regime found ways to continue with its current policies and its various confidants that have been targeted still have lots of money in offshore accounts, so they only feel threatened but not bitten. Even more importantly, they feel confident. However, if we talk about the quality of life and wealth of ordinary Russians, standards have obviously dropped. Some estimates say it has fallen by as much as a third. However this is still better than the situation in the 1990s.

The money trail left behind by Yulia Tymoshenko ahead of the 2019 presidential elections in Ukraine raises some serious questions.

Who is for and who is against reforms in the Ukrainian parliament? The answer to that question might be more complex than it might seem at first glance.

Ukraine's Armed Forces are according to many observers on a path of slow recovery. Its morale and popular credibility depends not only on its success on the battlefield, but also on how it is portrayed. Journalists have a special responsibility when it comes to documenting accusations of corruption in an environment where the problem is so real.

The head of Budapest's public transport was in the way of a Russian metro company's business with more than 200 million euros at stake. A KGB-style provokatsiya was utilised to get him fired and force the Hungarian capital to buy malfunctioning and expensive Russian metro cars.

President Petro Poroshenko has faced a dilemma. If he supports the reforms requested by pro-European part of Ukrainian society, he will act against the basic interests of his own circle. However, if he acts in line with the interests of his associates, he will eventually find himself among the enemies of pro-European reforms.

Liviu Dragnea, head of Romania’s ruling Social Democrats, is facing allegations of embezzling 24 million euros from EU funds between 2001 and 2012. Despite the massive anti-corruption protests in February 2017, Romania continues to be run by the ruling elite, for the ruling elite.