Written by: Audrey McGrory Like banyas, Matryoshka dolls, and dachas, propaganda has been prevalent in Russia for centuries, defining itself as not merely a well-used political tactic, but a cultural fixture as quintessential as other Russian practices and customs. The use of propaganda by the Russian government has been potent in Russian society—withstanding the political,…
Category: Eastern Europe
Lessons Yet to be Learned: War in Ukraine
Written by: Ken Wang In the past few weeks, almost all of the news that we have seen is related to Ukraine, Russia, or sanctions in some capacity. There are daily updates on military actions in Ukraine and economic sanctions imposed on Russia followed by statements and/or reactions from the White House, American allies in…
Russia in Africa: A Mission to Replace the West
Written by: Audrey McGrory As negotiations between Russia and NATO have intensified following the heightened risk of Russian invasion into its neighbor and former Soviet republic, Ukraine, Russia’s advancements elsewhere—namely in Africa—are also worth monitoring. In another example of Russia testing the West in their diplomatic capabilities, the country’s movements in Africa are interesting, though…
Corruption Underlies Vaccine Hesitancy in Eastern Europe
Written by: Peter LaBelle A glance at world COVID vaccination rates reveals a curious pattern. As one would expect, the percentage of a given country which has been vaccinated largely correlates with its wealth, with the highest percentages of the population vaccinated in Europe, North America, and parts of East Asia; reasonably high levels of…
Sanctions Could be the West’s Best Hope to Stop Russia
Written by: Audrey McGrory From the Polish government’s efforts to diminish the country’s freedom of the press to the Russian government’s blatant influence and obstruction in the nation’s parliamentary election, Western hopes of democracy in Eastern Europe seem increasingly dashed by such recent events, which have occurred in the region’s seemingly collective shift towards the…
Estonia’s Digital State Tops Countries with Remarkable Pandemic Preparedness
Written by: Rachel Berman With the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries were alarmingly unprepared to switch most activities to a digital platform. However, for countries like Estonia, this transition proved simple since most of their government services were online before the pandemic struck. Estonia’s digital infrastructure was crucial in a time…
The Warsaw-Brussels Tango: Will Poland Stay?
Written by: Aleksander Cwalina Brussels and Warsaw are locked in a judicial tit-for-tat to decide who has the final say on the supremacy of European Union (EU) law. This has strained EU-Polish relations and prompted some to wonder if “Polexit” lurks in the near future. The spar over rule of law in Poland began with…
Stalled EU Accession Threatens Future Prosperity in Balkans
Written by: Peter LaBelle For the Republic of North Macedonia, there must currently be a strong feeling of déjà vu. Almost three years ago, the Prespa Agreement ended the country’s long-running dispute with Greece over its name. This deal saw Macedonia change its name to North Macedonia, a change demanded by Greece on the grounds…
Serbia-Kosovo Land Swap: Path to Peace, or Road to War?
Written by: Adam Peterson The province of Kosovo has been one of Europe’s most hotly contested issues for more than three decades. Roughly half of the international community recognizes Kosovo as an independent nation, while the other half views Kosovo as an integral, historic region of Serbia. The beginning of the contemporary conflict over Kosovo…
Polish Libel Case Signals Chilling Limits in Polish Holocaust Research
Written by: Sophia Halverson A judge ruled in a Polish libel case that two prominent Holocaust survivors must apologize to a woman who feels that her uncle was slandered in a 1,600-page book, Night Without End: The Fate of Jews in Selected Counties of Occupied Poland. In the book, a Holocaust survivor testified that Filomena…
The WIRe 