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Tag: Russia

A major turn in Russia’s war against Ukraine?

The deep Ukrainian offensive into Russia's Kursk Oblast is becoming a watershed and opening a new page in Europe's largest military conflict since 1945.

September 17, 2024 - Andreas Umland

Foreign agent laws in the authoritarian playbook

From Russia to Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia to Hungary, “foreign agent” style laws have become a preferred instrument for authoritarians to extinguish critical voices, shield their rule from scrutiny and strengthen their hold on power.

By stigmatizing independent civil society, media and other dissenting voices as “trojan horses”, “foreign agent” laws have offered a convenient framing to delegitimize and isolate them. In addition, they have also helped to impose harsh monitoring and reporting requirements and shut critics out of public life. As the promotion of democratic practices and human rights threatens authoritarians’ grip on power, foreign agent laws offer a handy tool to discredit these activities by equating them with promoting the interests of a foreign power.

September 17, 2024 - Iskra Kirova

How Russia exploits right-wing organizations and polarizes societies

An interview with Kacper Rękawek, senior fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism. Interviewer: Andrzej Kozłowski

ANDRZEJ KOZŁOWSKI: How is Russia exploiting far-right organizations in Europe?

KACPER RĘKAWEK: This process began over ten years ago and specifically after the 2012 protests in Moscow, when Russians gathered at Bolotnaya Square to express their disagreement with Putin’s third term as president. Having seen the protesters, who in large numbers were representatives of the urban middle class, the Russian authorities came to the conclusion that it was the liberals who were the main threat to the regime. Although these enemies were identified internally, the Kremlin decided to attack them abroad as well.

September 17, 2024 - Andrzej Kozłowski Kacper Rękawek

How Viktor Orbán is going global

Within hours of assuming the presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán paid a visit to Ukraine, Russia, China and the United States. In Orbán’s own words these meetings were a part of a “peace mission” that he had initiated to bring peace back to Europe and the world as soon as possible.

The phrase “Make Hungary Great Again,” or in Hungarian “ismét naggyá teszi Magyarországot,” from a passage in the Preamble (National Avowal of Faith) of the Hungarian Constitution, enacted in April 2011, has become the motto of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union. From July 1st 2024 until the end of this year, “Make Europe Great Again” is the official slogan of the council’s rotating presidency.

September 17, 2024 - Dominik Héjj

What’s wrong with Telegram?

Telegram is a growing digital platform that is being used in the region and around the world. Yet, out of all major social media companies, it remains the least transparent in its content moderation and curation practices. The platform makes vocal commitments to protecting user privacy but practice shows otherwise.

Russia and Ukraine share few things in common when it comes to their respective social media environments. Following the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia banned the use of Meta’s platforms – Instagram and Facebook – in addition to the wholesale blocking of various domestic and foreign media outlets. Ukraine, for its part, blocked the Russian social network Vkontakte long before the invasion.

September 17, 2024 - Maksym Popovych

The shift to cyber power

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has involved the most extensive use of offensive cyber operations by one state against another in history. It is now obvious that blurring the lines between competition, crisis and war in cyberspace requires continuity in cyber defence. As a result, national cybersecurity must be one of the state's top priorities in terms of policy focus and budget allocation.

Forces that influence the world order are constantly evolving, and therefore, the global security landscape has become even more dynamic. For decades, the power dynamics of global balance were different to those today. Those with an economic advantage had the upper hand and dictated the rules to the rest of the world. Soon after, the emphasis moved towards military might, particularly during the Cold War. Of course, the economy is also the backbone here, as the development of weapons requires a strong and stable economy.

September 17, 2024 - Tatia Mosidze

Economic frontlines: bracing for a possible Trump return

November could see former US President Donald Trump return to the White House. His rather unpredictable approach to foreign policy could subsequently leave an even greater impact on the world than it did in his first term. This is due to various new conflicts like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with both Kyiv and Moscow preparing for Trump’s potential victory.

Over the last month, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has upended the presidential race in the United States by opening a small lead over Donald Trump in national polls. However, historical experience suggests early leads are often overturned and the upcoming presidential debates may prove decisive. With Trump still very much in the race, policymakers in Russia and Ukraine are bracing for what could be a seismic shift in US foreign policy.

September 17, 2024 - Cassia Scott-Jones

Teachers, de-Ukrainianization and agitprop in Ukraine’s occupied territory

While Ukrainian society generally acknowledges the forthcoming difficulties related to the reintegration of the generation having grown up under Russian occupation, there is little research which explicitly focuses on schooling in these areas. Early in 2022, we interviewed university students and experts under condition of anonymity who had experience in the educational systems of the Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics”. They provide valuable accounts of their memories of schooling and add insightful personal reflection and analysis.

Presuming a Ukrainian victory, when the Russian war against Ukraine comes to an end, Ukraine will face the daunting task of reintegrating the territories currently occupied by Russia. For Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, this means undoing a decade’s damage on these regions’ economies, but especially on their social fabrics. Elsewhere, Moscow’s strategy has been to fast-forward the de-Ukrainianization of the occupied territories, epitomized by the vulgar slogan that “Kherson will be Russian forever.”

September 17, 2024 - Eugenia Kuznetsova Michael Gentile

Pivotal elections: Georgia goes all in

Georgians overwhelmingly support NATO and EU membership and deserve a government that aligns with their aspirations. The West requires reliable partners in the South Caucasus and access to critical checkpoints in connectivity and trade. The current decline in relations between Tbilisi and the West can only be seen as a victory for Russia and China. The elections in October 2024 will provide one last chance for the country and its democratic perspectives.

Georgia is a small country with unique geopolitical importance to Russia, China and the West. Its regional and international positioning is heavily determined by the role of connecting Europe and Asia through the Black Sea. In this light, Russia’s war in Ukraine has profoundly affected the shift in Georgia’s foreign trajectory and democratic backsliding.

September 17, 2024 - Nino Lezhava

EU referendum in Moldova. An easy target for Kremlin propagandists?

Moldova has been preparing not only for presidential elections this autumn, but also a nationwide referendum on the country’s European Union membership. Opponents of the pro-EU ruling party claim this tactic is illegal and will cause irreversible harm to the society. Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, meanwhile is hoping to capitalize on Moldova’s EU path to help score a victory for her second term.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moldova, another ex-Soviet country, has been described by several propagandists associated with the Kremlin as the next target of possible “liberation”. Moldova had been blamed by them for discriminating against and offending Russian speakers, even those from the left bank of the Dniester River, or Transnistria, the region now controlled by the Russian army.

September 17, 2024 - Mihail Nesteriuc

Between pro-Russian rhetoric and pragmatic cooperation with Ukraine

Between 30 and 40 per cent of Slovaks have positive feelings towards Russia, which makes Slovak society one of the most pro-Russian in Europe. And yet, pro-Russian Slovaks do not want to leave either NATO or the EU. This simultaneous support for Russia and western alliances is a phenomenon that demands a deeper look.

At this year’s NATO summit in Washington DC, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico sent, not for the first time, a radically pro-Russian message to his voters. In a video posted on Facebook he said that Ukraine’s NATO membership was unacceptable and “a guarantee of a third world war”.

September 17, 2024 - Jakub Łoginow

A legend of the Soviet underground rock scene continues to play

Boris Grebenshchikov’s charisma and role in Soviet underground music were recognized worldwide. He was known for his distance from the Soviet reality. When asked today, Grebenshchikov, known as BG, claims that the popularity of his band, the famous Aquarium, came from the fact that it operated outside the established norms and challenged imposed standards.

“Russia is a terrorist state” is a popular slogan which we often see on social media and hear in public discourse. Understandably, since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, almost everything related to Russia has become political and generates negative emotions. Many commentaries and analyses point to the differences between the political culture in the West and the dictatorial models which have developed in the East. Putin’s Russia, now deemed neo-totalitarian, is a key example of this second model.

September 16, 2024 - Elżbieta Żak

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