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.
Ukraine finds cold comfort in White House
In the United States’ perennial quest for allies who share goals and contribute their fair share toward security, Ukraine is an exceptional bargain. This was perhaps the most important message that President Volodymyr Zelensky carried with him to Washington last week in his face-to-face meeting with President Biden. Time will tell whether his message sinks in.
Zapad-2021: What to expect from Russia’s strategic military exercise
Zapad-2021 is not just approaching. It’s already here. Zapad, meaning “west,” is Russia’s Strategic Command’s-Staff Exercise, taking place from September 10–16.
Moscow eyes Moldova’s and Ukraine’s warming relations with suspicion
As Kyiv and Chișinău firm up once weak bilateral ties, the Kremlin observes the formation of what it suspects is an anti-Russian alliance with alarm.
Meet the far-right ‘fanatics’ getting Hungary’s football team in trouble
While there does not appear to be any formal connection between Fidesz and the football fan groups involved in racist or homophobic incidents at national team matches, prominent Hungarian politicians have either sidestepped criticism of their behaviour, downplayed their actions or even spoken out in their favour in recent months.
Georgian democracy is dying by a thousand cuts
For Georgia’s ruling party, regime survival seems to trump all other considerations. Georgian Dream’s fight with western partners and persistent political polarisation risk undoing the country’s democratic progress.
World War I did not end in 1918
The trenches in France stopped firing towards one another on November 11, 1918 – but the rest of the world was only getting started.
The ‘spy’ who drew the Caucasus
A few years before French inventor Louis Daguerre ushered in the age of photography in Paris, a talented young artist and explorer called Frederic Dubois arrived in the Caucasus in 1831 with a sketch pad and an epic mission ahead of him.
Locals share why Vilnius, Lithuania is becoming an international start-up hub
There are plenty of reasons why Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital city, has an increasingly visible start-up sector. The country’s start-up-friendly regulatory environment, a beautiful medieval town centre, over 20 business hubs and accelerators and strong rankings in intellectual property production are most obvious at a high level. But what are the locals excited about on the ground?
Armenians and Azerbaijanis reckon with war’s psychological toll
Both societies quickly moved to help soldiers and civilians suffering with post-traumatic stress, but there are too few specialists in the region to adequately address all the needs.
What socialist style can teach us in an age of fast fashion
Modern shoppers have a growing addiction to fast fashion. As a society, we’re buying more clothes and wearing individual garments less: a trend which has a devastating impact both on the environment, and on the vulnerable and underpaid workers who make the latest must-wear items. But as more of us strive to become conscious consumers, could the socialist past provide some unexpected inspiration?
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