Analysis

Elsewhere in emerging Europe

A selection of articles about emerging Europe published elsewhere this week, all of which caught our eye and all of which are well worth your time. Listing them here, however, does not necessarily mean that we agree with every word, nor do they necessarily reflect Emerging Europe’s editorial policy.

The Economist looks at Estonia and Moldova. Both countries declared their independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991, both have big Russian minorities, and both have struggled with emigration and shrinking populations. Yet in so many ways they are now polar opposites.

Full story here.

Reuters interviews Volodymyr Zelensky, who plays Ukraine’s president on TV, and – given that he is leading in opinion polls just a month before a presidential election – now has real chance of taking the job for real.

Full story here.

Georgia’s neoliberal development model has failed. Now, it’s time to re-industrialise the economy, says Tato Khundadze, a political economist and head of the analytical division at Georgian Public Broadcasting.

Full story here.

Reporters Without Borders is appalled by Polish ruling party leader Jarosław Kaczyński’s request for the highly respected Warsaw daily Gazeta Wyborcza to be prosecuted for criminal libel because it has been raising questions about his involvement in plans to build a luxury skyscraper in Warsaw.

Full story here.

After city workers tore down their posters following the last anti-government rally in the Serbian capital, protesters against President Vucic’s rule have defied the authorities by putting up thousands more stickers across the city.

Full story here.

Outrage erupted in some quarters of Belarusian society over an official’s comments that young girls discovered not to be virgins would be reported to the police.

Full story here.

A damning new report details an attempted erasure by Azerbaijan of its Armenian cultural heritage, including the destruction of tens of thousands of UNESCO-protected ancient stone carvings.

Full story here.

Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov has assured NATO that Bulgaria is not Russia’s ‘Trojan horse’.

Full story here.

A new World War II strategy game offers a harrowing look at Poland’s ill-fated 1944 uprising.

Full story here.

Georgia is considered to be the birthplace of winemaking. But as it aims to boost exports around the world, will its unique wines be too challenging for most drinkers?

Full story here.