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Way down in Pankisi

Georgia’s Pankisi Valley has gained a reputation for violent extremism in recent years. But the international community’s attention isn’t just unwanted, it’s harmful.

openDemocracy.net - free thinking for the world

Way down in Pankisi

Georgia’s Pankisi Valley has gained a reputation for violent extremism in recent years. But the international community’s attention isn’t just unwanted, it’s harmful.

openDemocracy.net - free thinking for the world

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Роздуми на проспекті Бандери

Дискусії про історичні політики та міфотворчість в Україні часто-густо однобічні й незбалансовані. Комплексний підхід до соціальної й культурної гібридності – в минулому і нині – як ніколи на часі. English

Way down in Pankisi

Georgia’s Pankisi Valley has gained a reputation for violent extremism in recent years. But the international community’s attention isn’t just unwanted, it’s harmful.

Fear of surveillance is forcing activists to hide from public life in Belarus

A visitor to Minsk might conclude from its calm appearance that the human rights situation had changed. But beneath the surface, the invisible threat of surveillance keeps civil society in check.

“F*** You Obama”: the American MMA fighter and Russia’s Communists

Russia’s Communist party is tired of its role as “the tame opposition” — and is now using anti-capitalist wrestler Jeff Monson to win the youth vote.

Ilan Shor and the search for Moldova’s missing billion

This small-town “investor mayor” rose to fame in 2015. Now he’s behind bars. But the real story behind the arrest of one of Moldova’s most famous businessmen remains to be uncovered. Русский

Ukraine’s authoritarian signals

Recent unconstitutional legislation is smoothing the way for direct rule in Ukraine — and repeating past mistakes.

Noah’s Valley is drying up

Corruption, ill-conceived fish farming and mismanagement are contributing to a water crisis in Armenia’s Ararat Valley. 

Илан Шор и поиски пропавшего миллиарда

Пообещав, что станет "мэром - инвестором", год назад Илан Шор возглавил молдавский город Оргеев. Возможно, совсем ненадолго. English

1991 and 2016: historic mistakes

What Brexit and the break-up of the USSR have (and do not have) in common. 

Belarus from behind bars

What is it like to be thrown into a Belarusian jail? Political prisoners tell their stories. Русский

Brexit: the view from Eurasia

Whether you’re in Mariupol or Margate, politics has become an organic part of the tabloid press. Our media should change to tackle this.

Neoliberalism, mining and Armenia's politics of plunder

The resurgence of fighting with Azerbaijan could hinder progressive mobilisation in Armenia, but recent environmental initiatives reveal the appetite for resistance to the economy of extraction.

The trap of “countering Russia”

Across eastern Europe, US engagement against Russia is having an adverse effect on grassroots protesters – and no easy solution is forthcoming.

Their security, our poverty: militarisation and Lithuania’s new labour code

There are signs that a new movement is emerging against austerity in Lithuania, but it will have to contend with a new militarised nationalism. 

Свидетельства из тюрьмы

Пенитенциарная система Белоруссии – одна из самых закрытых в мире. Иностранного журналиста не пустят в тюрьму, а заключенные вряд ли будут откровенны - за любую жалобу их ждет наказание. 

Unearthing Russia’s war dead, over and over again

Seventy years after the war, many of Russia’s dead still lie scattered in fields and bogs across the eastern front. The Russian state has no problem instrumentalising their memories to shut down discussion.

Bandera mythologies and their traps for Ukraine

Our discussion of history politics and mythmaking in Ukraine is desperately un-nuanced. We need to restore complexity to our understanding of social and cultural hybridity — past and present. Українською

No, Russia is not preparing for all-out war

12946.jpgRussia’s snap military mobilisation drills are an internal exercise. But troublesome relations with the west could still have unintended (and unpleasant) consequences.

 

Ukraine’s rulers are backing themselves into a corner

As Europe's sanctions resolve against Russia evaporates, Ukraine's domestic political contest is heating up — Kyiv is turning its sights on the constitutional court. 

Georgia at the crossroads

Georgia's visa liberalisation process with the European Union could be delayed. This is bad news for a fragile democracy.

Big government is back in Dagestan

Dagestan's Khasavyurt is a city that never quite fit into Russia's power vertical — and local government is starting to feel the consequences. Русский

Хасавюрт: государство возвращается

В городе, который 18 лет жил по своим правилам, республиканская власть наводит порядок – как слон в посудной лавке. English

Ukraine’s struggle with the past is ours too

What happens in Ukraine does not stay in Ukraine — uncritical glorification of Ukrainian nationalism is the west’s problem too.

"You have to start improving yourself to improve Russia"

I spoke to four Russian gay men on discrimination, rights and Vladimir Putin. Here's what they said. 

Why is the war in eastern Ukraine still going on?

As trade links resume across the lines of demarcation in Ukraine, and pressure mounts to end the sanctions against Russia, a painful truth emerges: it's not hybrid war, it's hybrid peace. 

#Зрада журналистов: "миротворческие" поиски врагов народа

"Предательство" и "победа" — это два полюса черно-белого нарратива пропаганды, в ловушке которого оказалось украинское общество после победы Евромайдана и начала "гибридной войны" с Россией. English, Українською

Don’t ignore the left! Connections between Europe’s radical left and Russia

Europe’s radical left is connected personally and politically to the Kremlin.

Life after facts: how Russian state media defines itself through negation

The image of “Russian propaganda” as a powerful machine where all cogs and wheels work in harmony is not entirely accurate — and here’s why. Русский

Три льва и двуглавый орел

Там, где спорт превращается в средство демонстративного патриотизма, фанаты становятся политическим инструментом. Но при этом им никогда не повлиять на политику.

Жизнь после фактов: как российские государственные СМИ определяют себя через отрицание

Российская пропаганда говорит то, что хочет услышать большинство телезрителей. Но и пропаганда встречает сопротивление. English

Russia’s young people aren’t angry, they’re furious

Five years after Russia's protest movement turned sour, young people are still frustrated with the status quo. 

Як журналісти вчинили #зраду: “миротворчі” пошуки ворогів народу

Політична активність українського суспільства помітно зросла після Євромайдану. Проте наскільки її результати відповідають сподіванням? English, Русский

Depoliticising protests in Armenia

Years of social and environmental protests in Armenia have proven one thing — our demands must be political in nature. Русский

Политика неполитизации политики

Многолетние социальные и экологические протесты в Армении привели к пониманию, что требования должны быть политическими. English

Ramzan Kadyrov, John Oliver and the power of ridicule

As we hunt for the Chechen leader’s cat online, are we falling into the dictator’s trap? 

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