Talk Eastern Europe

Please support the podcast – become a patron: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope Episode 52 features a discussion on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline - a very controversial project in Europe. The pipeline, which aims to become a second gas pipeline to deliver Russian gas directly to Germany, was set to be completed by the end of 2019. Yet, delays have pushed back the pipeline’s final construction and loo...

Following the falsified August 9th presidential election in Belarus, which declared incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka winner with 80% of the vote, Belarusians have taken to the streets in unprecedented numbers. Nearly three weeks later, the protests continue and are joined by striking workers from state-owned enterprises. The regime, however, has fought back with an initial brutal crackdown and cont...

One of the least covered political stories in Central and Eastern Europe has been the mass protests against the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in Bulgaria. The latest string of corruption scandals facing Borissov and his government, which have been in power for over 10 years, seems to have become the last straw. Crowds flooded the streets to protest the scandals – at one point reachin...

War and conflict in Eastern Europe is often discussed and analysed in the context of big politics and national interests. However, what is often forgotten are the everyday victims of the conflict – those who live in the conflict zone or are refugees affected by war. In this episode Maciek and Adam sit down with Helena Krajewska from the Polish Humanitarian Action (Polska Akcja Humanitarna). Helena...

In mid-July fierce clashes between Azerbaijani forces and Armenian forces broke out. Both sides reported casualties and injuries as a result of the exchange of fire. As each side blamed the other for the escalation of violence – one thing is certain, the conflict between the two countries is still very hot and the situation is volatile. In this episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Maciek sits down with...

SUPPORT US! Become a Patreon patron: www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEurope There has been a lot of talk in the last few months about pending progress in Serbia-Kosovo relations and the normalization process between the two countries. Donald Trump’s appointment of Richard Grenell as Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations on the surface appears to be a move heading in the ri...

The situation in Belarus is heating up ahead of the August 9th presidential elections. The most popular opposition candidates - who want to challenge the 26-year authoritarian rule of Alyaksandr Lukashenka - have been arrested and detained. Meanwhile the society remains mobilised after the state’s poor coronavirus response and brutal crackdowns on independent journalists and bloggers. In this epis...

Originally live streamed on July 16 2020 - In the newest edition of New Eastern Europe we conduct a special debate on what impact COVID-19 may have on the shifting geopolitics in the region of Eastern Europe. We asked a group of experts for their input and analysis on how relations between Europe, the Eastern Partnership and Russia could develop as a result of the pandemic and what might come next...

In this episode, Maciek reconnects with political scientist Oktawian Milewski to continue the discussion on Romanian relations in the region. This time, they take a deeper look at the rocky evolution of relations between Ukraine and Romania – two countries which play a critical role in both Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Black Sea region. Maciek and Oktawian discuss Romania’s strategy t...

We are taking the podcast to the next level. Listen to the special announcement from the co-hosts of Talk Eastern Europe! Thank you to all of our patrons for their support! Want to support us? Visit: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope

In this episode Maciek catches up with Andrey Makarychev, a visiting professor at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies at the University of Tartu in Estonia, to discuss scenarios related to future relations with Russia. Andrey Makarychev is the author of a recent working paper titled “Russia, the EU and Eastern Partnership: Four Scenarios” which looks at how factors like the COVID-19 pa...

Originally live streamed on 23 June 2020 This is the third debate in the framework of the project titled “Ost/Wschód: German-Polish Debates on the East”. This time, we focus on Ukraine and on the armed conflict in the Eastern part of the country. How are Poland’s and Germany’s relations with Ukraine and how did the annexation of Crimea and the beginning of the war in Donbas change them? What is th...

Welcome to a special live edition of the Talk Eastern Europe podcast as we prepare for the launch of transcultural festival POSTWEST. This live chat was devoted to the opening of the festival and its Prologue. Adam & Maciek were joined by curators Alina Aleshchenko and Wiebke Jahns as well as a surprise guest! They discussed how COVID-19 changed the festival format, what the festival will look lik...

This is the second part of the special series dedicated to the POSTWEST transcultural festival. In this episode, Adam catches up with Maija Pavlova a producer with the Gertrudes Ielas Teatris (the Gertrude Street Theatre) based in Riga. They discuss the challenges of the pandemic for performance artists and how non-profit cultural institutions managed in the situation. They also discussed the thea...

In this special episode, Talk Eastern Europe revisits the transcultural festival POSTWEST – which was scheduled to take place at the end of May 2020. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the festival – which sought to bring together artists from 10 countries of Central and Eastern Europe – was forced to deal with the new reality. The festival found a new way to take place online in a virtual...

Our experience with the coronavirus demonstrates that pandemics know no borders. Nearly every country has been affected. The economic crisis that continues to take a toll on societies shows that more than ever solidarity and global solutions are needed for global problems. Will the COVID-19 pandemic force humanity to rethink the international system and global order? Can future crises be averted b...

This debate was live streamed on Facebook and YouTube and republished here as a podcast. This is the second debate organized in the framework of the project titled “Ost/Wschód: German-Polish Debates on the East”. Belarus plays a unique role in both countries’ policies towards the region and as a member of the Eastern Partnership is also a key state in EU foreign policy. Yet, the country’s extremel...

Information coming out of Chechnya is hard to come by. It is controlled by the tight grip of the Republic’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov. This episode attempts to get insight into what the response to COVID-19 looks like in the Russian Republic of Chechnya. Adam interviews Lana Estemirova, a freelance journalist covering Chechnya. They talk about issues related to the heavy-handed response to the virus....

For the last several years China has viewed the region of Central and Eastern Europe as an opportunity to gain a foothold in the European Union and influence states between the East and the West. One country not often considered as one in China’s focus is Lithuania. In this episode Maciak interviews Konstantinas Andrijauskas, an Associate Professor of Asian Studies and International Politics at Vi...

This debate took place live online an May 13 2020. The debate examines how Poland and Germany view the region of Eastern Europe. Both countries have a strong tradition in the region – either through Germany’s Ostpolitik or Poland’s Polityka Wschodnia. In this debate we address such questions as - What roles do history and geography play in Germany’s Ostpolitik and Poland’s Polityka Wschodnia? What...

It has been two years since Nikol Pashinyan has come to power after the Velvet Revolution in Armenia. In this episode Adam catches up with Richard Giragosian to discuss how much has changed in the country and how much has not. They also discuss relations with Russia with Russia under Pashinyan, which seem to be heading towards a deeper crisis. Adam and Richard also explore how Armenia has managed...

Developments in relations between Romanian and Moldova have raised a lot eyebrows lately. After Moldova’s pro-European government has fallen to be replaced by a Kremlin-friendly one; along with an already pro-Russia president the question remains as to what role Romania plays in all this. In this episode, Maciek catches up with analyst Oktawian Milewski to discuss the historical ties between the t...

On April 20th 2020, New Eastern Europe convened an online live discussion which examined the latest issue of New Eastern Europe and brought some of its authors together to highlight the key issues surrounding the war in Donbas in Eastern Ukraine, which are even further exacerbated by the outbreak of COVID19. We are publishing the audio of the discussion here. The discussion featured: Adam Reichard...

This episode takes a look at the current state of the Eastern Partnership and discusses a new report that outlines possible scenarios for future developments in the region. Adam and Maciek start with a recap of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership programme. Adam then interview Quincy Cloet, Managing Editor of Visegrad Insight and a researcher with the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. The...

This episode takes an in-depth look at the political developments in Russia and analyzes the changes that were made in order for Vladimir Putin to stay on as president of the Russian Federation for at least another two terms. The episode features an interview with Agnieszka Legucka, an expert on Russia from the Polish Institute of International Affairs. Maciek and Agnieszka discuss Russia’s respon...