Russia’s Cold War habit
A few weeks ago, Mikhail Gorbachev – the last leader of the Soviet Union and the man who did more than anyone to end the Cold War – told the German newspaper Bild that it is… Read more »
Search Results for: Moldova
As West dithers, Russia ups its game in the Balkans
Tensions are rising between west and east and over the Balkans. Albania, Macedonia, Serbia and other Balkan countries that aspire to EU membership remain a long way from entry because… Read more »
Is Russia’s anti-corruption movement Putin’s Kryptonite?
Russian President Vladimir Putin today criticized opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, indirectly accusing him of using his anticorruption campaign to gain political prominence, RFE/RL reports: Without naming Navalny in comments… Read more »
Western democracies ‘floundering’ in internet clash of ideas?
Russian efforts to influence the French presidential election show that the central aim of the Kremlin’s media outlets and networks is to foment fear and mistrust outside Russia and… Read more »
Ukraine cracks down on anticorruption crusaders
A recent legislative amendment requiring activists and journalists reporting on government corruption to file public declarations of their personal assets is vague and could be used to deter or punish… Read more »
Lithuania’s struggle for freedom continues
NATO’s European members have increased defense spending for the first time in seven years, Euronews reports: The hike was driven by Latvia, Lithuania and to a lesser extent Estonia, three… Read more »
‘Dual threat’ from authoritarians, populists saps democracy, watchdog says
The resurgence of authoritarian powers and the emergence of “populist and nationalist forces” in democratic states have prompted a deterioration of democracy and growing threats to civil liberties, U.S.-based watchdog… Read more »
Russia’s information warfare – strategic ‘social engineering’
Russia’s ongoing information warfare against Western democracies goes well beyond hacking, according to leading expert. “It’s political engineering, social engineering on a strategic level,” said Thomas Rid, a professor of… Read more »
UK ‘rolls out the carpet for kleptocrats’
Britain has allowed its capital to become a playground for the world’s oligarchs, notes analyst Ben Judah. A new Magnitsky Act is needed to stem the corruption, but British law… Read more »
Civil society countering Ukraine’s ‘corrupt counter-revolution’
In Ukraine, revolution and reform has given way to reaction, with vested interests entrenching themselves even further, notes Sergii Leshchenko, a Ukrainian journalist and a member of the Verkhovna Rada. Today,… Read more »