Russia

Europe woke up in a different reality on February 24, 2022. Shocked, angered, frightened, stressed, outraged – we can probably find many words to describe the primal and visceral feelings of people. But there was one very clear-cut line: whether or not one supported Ukraine which fell victim to the barbaric and criminal Russian invasion. This was a turning point for many things, including shifting identities for many Latvian Russian-speakers.

In this episode, we talk about the Russian economy and society, the structure of power in Putin’s Russia, dictatorship and Putinism, the Russian war in Ukraine, and the future of Russia.

Liberalism is a political philosophy based on the principles of peace. However, this fact has been very often generously interpreted by detaching liberalism from events beyond the borders of liberal states, no matter how anti-liberal, and thus threatening to freedom they might be. 

Current global developments are prompting many nations to define their political paths and select their future strategic partners. Some have already applied to join BRICS and it expanded from 5 to 11 nations, while others are in line. The European Union, recently hesitant about its enlargement, has accelerated membership discussions with nations in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe.

In this episode, we talk about the Ukrainian grain crisis, its economic and political context, the role and response of Poland and other EU countries to the issue, and the way forward for Ukrainian-Polish relations.

We are pleased to present the nineteenth issue of 4liberty.eu Review, titled “Learning from the Past and Present: Impacts of the Russian War in Ukraine on CEE”. This time, our primary focus is on the response to the Russian aggression in the region, as well as various related phenomena and challenges.

In this episode, we talk about German strategy towards the war in Ukraine, a shift in the defense policy, the future of EU enlargement and strategic autonomy, and how Germans perceive Zeitenwende.

The most recent poll conducted by the Levada Center, Russia\'s foremost independent polling institution, following Yevgeny Prigozhin\'s incursion into Moscow, leaves no room for doubt: 82 percent of Russians continue to express support for Putin. While not questioning the absolute precision of these surveys or their methodologies, it becomes challenging not to ponder their proportionality and, consequently, their credibility.

According to media reports, the Ukrainian offensive is progressing slower than expected. However, there are many indications that the main phase of the offensive is still ahead of us, and the actions taken so far have only been rehearsals. The attacks are advancing towards the Sea of Azov in order to cut off Russian access to Crimea and divide the occupation zone into two parts.

The Sejm passed the Act on the establishment of the State Commission for the Study of Russian Influences on the Internal Security of the Republic of Poland in the years 2007-2022. The Commission is proposed to be a public administration body and will be tasked with disclosing alleged cases of widely understood acts of espionage or actions made to the detriment of the Republic of Poland committed by public officials under the influence of Russia.