Music and memories under the samovar: Fanny Gordon and the songs of Eastern Europe between the wars
When she first practiced it on a child’s piano, little would the Polish-Russian composer Fanny Gordon have known that Pod Samowarem (Under the Samovar), one of her earliest hits, would eventually [...]
Ukraine Monthly Digest: Eurovision scandal, and early presidential polls
– According to the 2019 Freedom in the World Index, released on February 4th, Ukraine remains partly free. The country lost two points from the previous year because of the rising number of [...]
Far-right Networking – an interview with Louis Wierenga on Estonia’s radical right, pt. 2
Read part one here In this second part of my interview with Louis Wierenga, our discussion leads to cleavages within Estonian society and the broader Intermarium project of far-right groups in [...]
Poland Monthly Digest: spring time in Poland, and a diplomatic crisis with Israel
– On February, 1st Robert Biedroń, former mayor of Słupsk, former member of parliament, and LGBTQ+ activist, launched a new political party called Spring, set to participate both in this year’s [...]
Hungary Monthly Digest: Hungary is “Partly Free”, and government launches campaign against the European Commission
– On January 30th, workers of the Audi factory in Győr, Northwest Hungary, won an 18% wage increase, ending a six-day strike. The factory is one of the biggest industrial hubs of the country, [...]
Far-right Networking – an interview with Louis Wierenga on Estonia’s radical right, pt 1
In light of the upcoming elections in Estonia on March 3rd, the controversy surrounding the adoption of the UN Global Compact and EKRE pulling ahead as 3rd strongest political force, the question [...]
Russia Monthly Digest: Russia suspends observation of INF Treaty, and polar bears bother remote Russian island
– On January 27th, the world’s so-called oldest ever person, Koku Istambulova, died at the age of either 129 or 130, in Chechnya. Her identification document, issued in 2003, states that [...]
“The steepest drop in democratic quality in Eastern Europe”: Georgian democracy downgraded
Democracy in Georgia declined sharply according to the most recent democracy index by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Based on indicators measuring electoral processes and pluralism, the [...]
Bulgaria Monthly Digest: nothing new on the southeastern front: corruption, poverty and discrimination in Bulgaria
– A Eurostat study published on January 15th show that 32.4 percent of retired people in Bulgaria are at risk of poverty. Estonia (46 percent), Latvia (44 percent), and Lithuania (37 [...]
