Talk Eastern Europe

*** Support this podcast! Become a Patron here: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeIn this episode, Adam and Maciek get back to Ukraine and discuss recent developments in Ukraine’s foreign policy, including Nord Stream 2, the Crimea Platform and President Zelenskyy’s visit to the United States. The episode features Adam’s interview with Ukrainian expert Anna Korbut to further analyze these developments and what might come next for the country.Resources:“The Crimea Platform as a new approach to a seven-year-old problem: By: Adam Reichardt, New Eastern Europe, 24 August 2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/08/24/the-crimea-platform-as-a-new-approach-to-a-seven-year-old-problem/ “The Crimean Platform: possible light in the hybrid tunnel”. By: Christine Karelska and Pavlo Vugelman, New Eastern Europe, 24 August 2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/08/23/the-crimean-platform-possible-light-in-the-hybrid-tunnel/ “Mr Zelenskyy goes to Washington” by: Vladyslav Faraponov. New Eastern Europe, 1 September 2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/09/01/mr-zelenskyy-goes-to-washington/TEE Episode 52: Nord Stream 2 and pipeline politics: https://www.spreaker.com/user/talkeasterneurope/tee-52Nord Stream 2. Strictly business or wider threat? By: Mykola Voytiv, New Eastern Europe, Issue 4 2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/06/23/nord-stream-2-strictly-business-or-wider-threat/ >>>>> Check out the newest issue of the magazine on Belarus here: https://bit.ly/3kd5OGNAnd listen to our special audio documentary on Belarus: https://bit.ly/2HQRVO4

*** Support this podcast! Become a Patron here: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeWe are back after a short summer break and just released a new episode. In this episode we come back to Georgia and discuss the situation there after the collapse of the EU-negotiated deal earlier this year and ahead of local elections in the fall. For the discussion, Adam sits down with Soso Dzamukashvili, a policy analyst and researcher focusing on political developments in Central and Eastern Europe. Resources:“What is really behind Ivanishvili’s decision to quit politics” Soso Dzamukashvili, New Eastern Europe issue 3/2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/04/11/what-is-really-behind-ivanishvilis-decision-to-quit-politics/Georgia’s argument over ‘Michel’ is finished, at least for now, Archil Sikharulidze, New Eastern Europe 16 August 2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/08/16/georgias-argument-over-michel-is-finished-at-least-for-now/ “Crisis spiral in Georgia and Moldova – commonalty, distinctions and ways out” Denis Cenusa, 8 March 2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/03/08/crisis-spiral-in-georgia-and-moldova-commonalty-distinctions-and-ways-out/ Talk Eastern Europe 66: “Political turbulence shakes Georgia” https://www.spreaker.com/user/talkeasterneurope/tee-66 Talk Eastern Europe is a member of the EuroPod network. Check it out here: https://www.bullemedia.eu/europod

*** Support Talk Eastern Europe. Become a Patron at www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEurope In this special episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Adam and Maciek have a conversation with Maria Kobielska, a memory scholar and assistant professor at the Department of Anthropology of Literature and Cultural Research at the Jagiellonian Univeristy in Kraków Poland. She is also the co-founder of the Research Center for Memory Cultures at the University.This episode is being produced within the framework of the project titled “Contested Histories Onsite”, a project which aims to place Europeans in discussions and debates on multiple historical perspectives and to activate citizens in public involvement of memory-constructions. As part of the EU’s Europe for Citizens programme, the project’s aspiration is rooted in a shared conviction that raising critical questions about the past is fundamental for citizens to develop a critical attitude towards the narratives that are competing with each other in contemporary politics.For more information on the project visit:-Contested Histories Onsite: https://contestedhistories.org/onsite/-Memory Studies Association: https://www.memorystudiesassociation.org/contested-histories-onsite/-EuroClio: https://www.euroclio.eu/project/contested-histories/Visit the Warsaw Uprising Museum Online: https://www.1944.pl/en/article/the-warsaw-rising-museum,4516.html>>> Talk Eastern Europe is a member of the EuroPod network. Check it out here: https://www.bullemedia.eu/europod >>> Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/talkeasterneurope

*** Support Talk Eastern Europe. Become a Patron at www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEurope In this special podcast episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Maciek and Adam are joined by Roman Washchuk, the former Canadian ambassador to Ukraine (2014-2019). They discuss the challenges Ukraine faces, look at the recent NATO summit and analyze Western support for Ukraine’s reforms. The conversation ends with a short reflection on the situation in Belarus.Check out the latest issue of New Eastern Europe on Ukraine now available at www.neweasterneurope.eu Read also:“Ukrainian NATO membership: Realistic or a diplomatic tool?” by: Maryna Parfenchuk, New Eastern Europe, June 25 2021, https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/06/25/ukrainian-nato-membership-realistic-or-a-diplomatic-tool/ >> In case you missed our online event titled: “All Quiet on the Eastern Flank? Reflections after the June 2021 NATO Summit” you can watch it online here: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/06/17/all-quiet-on-the-eastern-flank-reflections-after-the-june-2021-nato-summit/ Talk Eastern Europe is a member of the EuroPod network. Check it out here: https://www.bullemedia.eu/europod Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/talkeasterneurope

*** Support Talk Eastern Europe. Become a Patron at www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEurope In this special episode produced ahead of the NATO Summit, Adam and Maciek take a look at the context of the event scheduled for June 14th 2021 – the first Summit with the participation of Joe Biden as US President. Later, Adam sits down with Alice Stollmeyer, the Founder and Executive Director of Defend Democracy - an independent, nonpartisan, transatlantic initiative aimed at defending democracy from internal, external and technological threats. They discuss issues on the Transatlantic agenda as well as the current and future challenges that face the Alliance.Please check out and support Alice’s organization: www.defenddemocracy.eu Other articles to check out:“We need to talk about Russia, again,” by: Wojciech Michnik. New Eastern Europe 19 May 2021. https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/05/19/we-need-to-talk-about-russia-again/ “Closing the window of opportunity for Russia?” By: Silvie Leštinská. New Eastern Europe 7 June 2021. https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/06/07/closing-the-window-of-opportunity-for-russia/ Production of this podcast episode is part of a wider project called “All Quiet on the Eastern Flank?” which is conducted by New Eastern Europe and supported by a grant from NATO Public Diplomacy. Learn more at: www.neweasterneurope.eu Talk Eastern Europe is a member of the EuroPod network. Check it out here: https://www.bullemedia.eu/europod Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/talkeasterneurope

*** Support Talk Eastern Europe. Become a Patron at www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEurope This episode brings us back to Estonia with an interview with Kristina Kallas, a political scientist and the leader of Eesti 200 liberal political party. Ahead of the autumn local elections, political divisions are sharp in this northern Baltic state. However Kallas hopes her vision for a renewed political agenda can help change this trend. She also discusses the important situation with the Russian minority in the country and how it has evolved over the past 30 years. Read Kallas’s latest essay from the April-May issue of New Eastern Europe. “Russians in Estonia. We are not ‘them’, we are ‘us’”: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/04/11/russians-in-estonia-we-are-not-them-we-are-us/Talk Eastern Europe is a member of the EuroPod network. Check it out here: https://www.bullemedia.eu/europod Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/talkeasterneurope

*** Support Talk Eastern Europe. Become a Patron at www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEurope In this special episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Maciek sits down with Dmytro Khutkyy an expert on digital democracy and open governance. They discuss how different countries approach digital democracy, what are some advantages and also pitfalls of digitizing our public sector. The main context for the conversation was the release of a recent online study called the “Digital Democracy Database”. This project is designed to identify and analyse cases of digital democracy aspiring to consolidate global democracy by discovering and sharing good practices of open participatory governance worldwide. It is intended as a source of data for scholars, policy analysts, civic activists, politicians, and other interested parties.Learn more about the Digital Democracy Database: https://europeandigital.org/digital-democracy-database Lear more about our guest, Dmytro Khutkyy: https://www.khutkyy.com/ Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/talkeasterneurope Talk Eastern Europe is a member of the EuroPod network. Check it out here: https://www.bullemedia.eu/europod

*** Support Talk Eastern Europe. Become a Patron at www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEuropeIn this episode, we invite Romain Lequiniou from the French think tank “Euro Créative” and Lidia Gibadło from the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) to discuss the approaches of two of the most important players in Western Europe - Germany and France - towards the region of Eastern Europe. We discuss relations with Russia, Belarus, the Nagorno-Karabkh conflict, and possible upcoming political changes in both countries and what effect they may have on our region.Resources and previous episodes:“Ukraine in France” An interview with Christine Kohut, member of Portail de l’Ukraine. Interviewer: Clémence Lavialle. New Eastern Europe 12 May 2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/05/12/ukraine-in-france/ “France-Russia, a love-hate history” By: Cyrille Bret. New Eastern Europe Issue 1-2 (Jan-March) 2020. https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/01/28/france-russia-a-love-hate-history/ Talk Eastern Europe Episode 65: Relations with Russia. To engage or not engage?: https://www.spreaker.com/user/talkeasterneurope/ep-65 Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Groups/TalkEasternEuropeTalk Eastern Europe is a member of the EuroPod network. Check it out here: https://www.bullemedia.eu/europod

*** Support Talk Eastern Europe. Become a Patron at www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEurope In this episode we welcome back Agnieszka Legucka, a Polish analyst and expert on Russia. During Maciek’s interview with Agnieszka, the podcast discusses the security situation in the region, the Kremlin’s motives for massing troops around Ukraine and some of the internal factors which may also be driving the Kremlin’s decision-making. Further reading:“Russia’s military build-up on the border with Ukraine: intimidation, imminent escalation or both?” By: - Alisa Muzergues. New Eastern Europe 21 April 2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/04/21/russias-military-build-up-on-the-border-with-ukraine-intimidation-imminent-escalation-or-both/“What’s behind Moscow’s possible escalation in Donbas” by Piotr Andrusieczko. New Eastern Europe 11 April 2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/04/11/whats-behind-moscows-possible-escalation-in-donbas/“Russia’s police state showed its real face in latest protest crackdown” By: Giovanni Pigni. New Eastern Europe issue 3/2021. https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/04/11/russias-police-state-showed-its-real-face-in-latest-protest-crackdown/ >>> Check out “Tales from the Baltics” - the newest issue of New Eastern Europe. Get your copy here: https://bit.ly/3fZWpkdJoin us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Groups/TalkEasternEuropeTalk Eastern Europe is a member of the EuroPod network. Check it out here: https://www.bullemedia.eu/europod

*** Support Talk Eastern Europe. Become a Patron at www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEuropeThis episode of Talk Eastern Europe heads back to the Southern Caucasus following the serious clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia last year. The fighting came to an end with a Russian-negotiated peace agreement, providing Azerbaijan with some territorial gains and putting Russian peacekeeping troops on the ground in the region. In Armenia the agreement was seen as a humiliating defeat for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who was forced to accept the agreement and was heavily criticized in the country.This episode takes a look at the political developments that have taken place since the agreement was signed. Adam sits down with Armenian journalist Ani Avetisyan to get some insight on the current situation there as the country braces for pre-term elections on June 20th. Resources and context:“This conflict was always on the edge of Europe”, An interview with Thomas de Waal. New Eastern Europe issue 3/2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/04/11/this-conflict-was-always-on-the-edge-of-europe/“Pashinyan announces changes to electoral system before elections” by Ani Avetisyan, OC Media 25 March 2021: https://oc-media.org/pashinyan-announces-changes-to-electoral-system-before-elections/“Turkey, Russia and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict” By: Natalia Konarzewska. New Eastern Europe 1-2/2021: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/02/03/turkey-russia-and-the-nagorno-karabakh-conflict/Talk Eastern Europe Episode 55: Episode 55: Nagorno-Karabkh on fire (again) https://www.spreaker.com/user/talkeasterneurope/tee-55>>> Check out “Tales from the Baltics” - the newest issue of New Eastern Europe. Get your copy here: https://bit.ly/3fZWpkd Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Groups/TalkEasternEurope Talk Eastern Europe is a member of the EuroPod network. Check it out here: https://www.bullemedia.eu/europod