Latest news, headlines and top stories you need to know RIGHT NOW about Russia, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
On March 5 Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz suggested creating refugee centers outside the EU, for example in Georgia or in the Western Balkans. “It is not that important where exactly they [the centers] will be. The important thing is that they [these countries] will ensure protection, and that…
Last week, just days after the southern Caucasus nation of Georgia celebrated its newly awarded visa-free travel access to 30 EU countries, Russian news outlets began reporting a different story. Georgia’s visa liberalization wasn’t the result of Tblisi’s successful, long-planned reforms targeting European integration, Russian outlets said, but part…
Ukraine has made a vaunted effort to move closer to the European Union and away from Russia. In fact, you could argue that the desire to be part of the EU was what caused the Maidan Revolution and the eventual annexation of Crimea and the conflict in East Ukraine. The…
Russia has exited recession, with a little help from the boys in uniform, a major statistical revision – and the global oil price. And not just any recession, but its longest in two decades. So what happened? To Read More Visit Bloomberg
Lawmakers in the Czech Republic want to amend the country’s constitution to prevent the EU parliament from restricting gun rights in the country. Interior Minister Milan Chovanec, who drafted the proposal, is optimistic it will be passed by the Czech Parliament, EURACTIV reported. “I think that we have very good…
The border conflict between Russia and Belarus continues. Russia state agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor announced on Friday that two major cheese factories had received official warnings over the use of the preservative natamycin, reports The Moscow Times. Food smuggling has become big business since Russia banned European food imports in response…
Trump-Russia ‘Deal’ Takes Place Over North Korea.
The European Union has cleared Hungary to build two nuclear reactors with Russian help after Budapest made commitments to safeguard competition in the energy sector. The Hungarian deal for Russia to build the two additional reactors at the Paks nuclear plant, which had been agreed three years ago, had been…
Ukraine has decided to take its case against Russia’s actions in the east to the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ), the international body’s top judicial venue. Although the case won’t change the facts on the ground, it could impact the propaganda and hybrid war in the frozen conflict. Kiev…
We have been reporting that the conflict in East Ukraine has been heating up in recent weeks as both sides jockey for positioning prior to any official policy being released on the stalemate by the newly installed Trump administration. Russia has been pushing hard to normalize the pro-Russian rebel controlled…