Our weekly digest 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.
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Slovenian strongman back at EU top table
Janez Janša, an anti-immigration hardliner and ally of Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, has engineered an unlikely comeback.
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Eastern Partnership’s champions expect more from the ‘geopolitical Commission’
As associated countries of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova ask for a more ambitious Eastern Partnership (EaP) policy, the debate continues about the next steps and available financial support for what is lauded as one of the EU’s most successful foreign policies.
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Lithuanian independence: Recording the first crack in the USSR
A Lithuanian photographer recalls the night — 30 years ago — his country became the first Soviet republic to declare independence.
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How Russia helped the United States fight Huawei in Central and Eastern Europe
The United States has become the number one partner of many Central and Eastern European countries. Ties with Washington are the bedrock of their defense and diplomatic strategies. Not surprisingly, it has become natural for policymakers in these countries to be very sensitive to anything that could jeopardise their relations with the United States.
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‘My family urged me to return to Armenia; but I decided to stay in China’
Emma Petrosyan, a 28-year-old English teacher from Alaverdi, Armenia, has lived and worked in the Chinese city of Tianjin for a year and a half. When the coronavirus hit China, unlike many others, Emma chose to stay.
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No place for transgender people in Georgia’s labour market
On February 5, a transgender woman was brutally attacked while working the night shift at a Spar supermarket in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. It is clear that the victim, who prefers to remain unnamed, was attacked due to her gender identity. According to her lawyer Tamar Zarkua, transgender people in Georgia are at risk of hate crimes simply while walking down the street, however most attacks take place at the hands of clients in the service sector and in sex work.
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Celebrating Romania’s forgotten dissident heroes
Radu Jude’s films have often focused on Romania’s forgotten horrors. His latest film, Uppercase Print, celebrates its hidden champions.
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Battle heats up for Albanian ‘crown’ in North Macedonia
As ethnic Albanian parties battle for supremacy ahead of the spring general election, the formation of the first-ever mixed Macedonian-Albanian pre-election alliance has upset election calculations.
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Global Britain should support its freedom-loving friends on Russia’s borders
UK governments of all stripes were once the most energetic proponents of EU enlargement, and engagement with the new democracies of Eastern Europe.
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Romania racism row: Bakers from Sri Lanka feel the heat
Three Sri Lankan bakers who moved to a quiet town in Romania to work in a bread factory have unexpectedly found themselves at the centre of an anti-immigration storm.
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