Balancing values and interests. NATO's constrained engagement in the South Caucasus
Yesterday's (un)forgotten co-existence Subscribe to NEE
The consequences of Russia's invasion are visible not only in Ukraine. The Kremlin has set off or exploited a series of crises that face most European countries. Subscribe to NEE
New thinking is needed in policies towards Russia, in whatever form it will take after the war. Subscribe to NEE
Ukraine's suffering goes well beyond the front line. Subscribe to NEE
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine we now see our western values under siege, whether we consciously recognise it or not. Subscribe to NEE
The invasion by Russian forces of Ukraine from the north, south and east – with the initial aim to take the capital Kyiv – has changed our region, and indeed our world, forever. Subscribe to NEE
The situation with Russian threats towards Ukraine once again illustrates the high level of instability in our region. Subscribe to NEE
Only a year ago we witnessed the second Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It took at least 5,000 lives and significantly shifted the geopolitics in the South Caucuses. Subscribe to NEE
This special issue aims to honour the plight of Belarusians whose democratic choice made in August 2020 was shamelessly snubbed by Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Subscribe to NEE
From the social, economic and political points of view, a lot of work still remains for this country. And this is why Ukraine's story is incomplete. Subscribe to NEE
30 years after the fall of the Soviet Union Subscribe to NEE
And what lies ahead for our region... Subscribe to NEE
Our societies are more polarised than ever before, which makes them more susceptible to disinformation, untruth and conspiracy theories. Subscribe to NEE
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed limitations and weaknesses in nearly all countries around the world. Subscribe to NEE
The case of Georgia Subscribe to NEE
Its costs, challenges and the commitment to peace. Subscribe to NEE
Uncertainty, volatility and the relationship between Russia and the West. Subscribe to NEE
A true makeover or cosmetic change? Subscribe to NEE
The Black Sea region is quickly becoming a geopolitical battleground which is gaining the interest of major powers, regional players and smaller countries – and the stakes are only getting higher. Subscribe to NEE
This issue is dedicated to the 10 year anniversary of the European Union's Eastern Partnership as well as the 30 years since the 1989 revolutions in Central Europe. Subscribe to NEE
The consequences of the emerging multipolar world. Subscribe to NEE
This issue takes a special look at the role and responsibility of the public intellectual in Central and Eastern Europe today. Subscribe to NEE
In the eastern parts of the European continent, 1918 is remembered not only as the end of the First World War, but also saw the emergence of newly-independent states and the rise of geopolitical struggles which are felt until this day. Subscribe to NEE
It often seems, at least from the outside, that Belarus remains isolated from the West and very static in its transformation. Yet, despite its relative isolation, Belarus is indeed changing. Subscribe to NEE
The Summer 2018 issue of New Eastern Europe tackles the complexity of para-states in the post-Soviet space. Subscribe to NEE
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Novaya Gazeta Europe
6 hours ago
- Novaya Gazeta Europe
Trump envoy Witkoff arrives in Moscow for talks as Ukraine ceasefire deadline looms — Novaya Gazeta Europe
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow for talks with Kremlin officials on Wednesday, just two days before US President Donald Trump's deadline for Vladimir Putin to end the war or face fresh sanctions. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that Witkoff was met at the capital's Vnukovo Airport by Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a senior member of Putin's negotiating team on the Ukraine war, before the two were pictured walking in Zaryadye Park near the Kremlin later on Wednesday morning. The visit is Witkoff's fifth to Russia this year, with the special envoy having met with Putin on four previous occasions. During his last visit to the Russian capital in April, Witkoff and Putin discussed the possibility of Moscow and Kyiv resuming direct negotiations on ending the war for the first time in three years. Since then, Ukrainian and Russian delegations have held three rounds of talks in Türkiye, but remain far from a peace settlement as the two sides hold what the Kremlin has called 'diametrically opposed' positions on how the war should end. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied whether Witkoff would meet with Putin again this week, saying only that Russia's leadership was 'always glad' to see Trump's special envoy in Moscow and considered its contact with him 'important, substantive and very useful'. In July, Trump threatened to impose 'very severe' tariffs of up to 100% on countries that traded with Russia should Putin not agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine within 50 days, an ultimatum he then altered to '10 or 12 days' last week. The Kremlin, however, has appeared unfazed by the US president's threats, stressing that it had developed a 'certain immunity' to Western sanctions after living under a 'huge number of restrictions' since the start of the war. Trump is expected to make a decision on whether to impose fresh sanctions on Russia, including secondary tariffs on countries that continue to buy Russian oil, based on the results of Witkoff's visit. 'We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We're going to see what happens', the US president told reporters on Tuesday. 'We'll make that determination [on measures against Russia] at that time'.
Novaya Gazeta Europe
6 hours ago
- Novaya Gazeta Europe
Purge season. Nearly 100 senior Russian officials have been charged with corruption so far in 2025 — the highest number in a decade — Novaya Gazeta Europe
The apparent suicide of former Russian transport minister Roman Starovoyt, who was reportedly facing criminal charges for embezzling billions of rubles during the construction of fortifications on the Ukrainian border, became one of the most widely discussed events of July. But the investigation into Starovoyt and other border region functionaries is just the tip of the iceberg — a sweeping purge of high-ranking Russian officials appears to be underway. Last week, former Tambov region governor Maksim Yegorov was detained on suspicion of receiving a particularly large bribe. On 22 July, the transport minister of the Novgorod region, Konstantin Kuranov, was arrested on suspicion of the same crime. Just days earlier, on 18 July, Stanislav Shultsev, deputy chairman of the Novgorod regional government — was also taken into custody on large-scale bribery charges. Since the beginning of 2025, criminal proceedings have been initiated against at least 99 regional lawmakers and senior officials, which amounts to an average of 14 new cases per month. Novaya Gazeta Europe's investigation is based on open source intelligence, primarily media reports, and tracks the dates of criminal proceedings being opened rather than final convictions. The research focuses specifically on senior officials, defined here as no lower than deputy heads of federal or regional ministries, or deputy mayors of regional capitals. Our investigation did not include heads of state-owned enterprises or state-funded institutions, such as schools or universities. 'For an autocracy to survive, it must instil fear — but without unleashing full-scale terror.' Among government departments, law enforcement and security agencies are the hardest hit, being involved in almost a third (28%) of all cases. Next comes construction and housing (18%), followed by trade and industry (11%), and then transport and natural resources (8% each). Nearly half of all arrests of senior officials over the past 10.5 years have occurred since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Arrests of top-level federal officials — from ministers to department heads and their deputies — have even surpassed pre-war levels. 'For an autocracy to survive, it must instil fear — but without unleashing full-scale terror,' says Russian political scientist Yekaterina Schulmann. 'What we're seeing now is that each new arrest is not publicly framed as part of a broader campaign or purge. On the contrary, the system avoids that language. Meanwhile, growing risks for officials, the redistribution of assets, and the inability to leave the country safely are among the key destabilising factors in today's Russia.' Starovoyt's death, which was Russia's most high-profile political suicide in decades, shocked those in government circles, sources told Faridaily, an independent media outlet known for reporting from within Russia's elite. 'It makes you feel like if you end up in the machine, it'll grind you into dust,' sources told the channel, recalling the recent 13-year sentence for Russia's former deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov, and the suspicious death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash in August 2023. Against this backdrop, many interpreted Starovoyt's act not only as a tragedy, but also as a breach of the system's unwritten rules: 'Strangely enough, Starovoyt showed a way out — and now many will consider it possible,' admitted one source. Easy targets Parallel to the rise in high-profile cases, a broader anti-corruption campaign is gathering momentum at the middle and lower levels of the bureaucracy. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, in the first quarter of 2025 there were nearly 25% more corruption cases recorded than in the same period of 2024: 15,500 versus 12,500. 'Mid-level bureaucrats are particularly at risk,' says one Russian criminal justice researcher who spoke on condition of anonymity. 'These are people who sign off on routine spending or manage public institutions. In any unplanned situation, they're the ones most likely to end up taking the blame.' Most of those prosecuted are not top-tier officials or managers of state enterprises, but lower-level or mid-level employees — including civil servants, public-sector workers, and staff in private firms: cashiers, warehouse workers, clerks and logistics personnel. The gates of the Zamoskvoretsky District Court building in Moscow, 17 July 2024. Photo: Alexander Avilov / Moskva Agency New rules of corruption Criminal cases against officials are often accompanied by confiscation of property and fines that far exceed the proven damage. For example, on 25 June, the State Secretary of the Russian North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, Magomed-Sultan Magomedov, was detained. Just one day later, on 26 June, a court granted the Prosecutor General's Office's request to confiscate from Magomedov and his relatives a number of assets in favour of the state — including the Kaspetrolservice oil terminal and the lucrative fuel companies MSB Holding and Nefteproduktsnab. The now-former official was released under a travel ban. 'Against the backdrop of factory nationalisations, re-privatisation and redistribution of major business, these confiscations and fines are mere peanuts,' says a sociologist who asked to remain anonymous. 'They are just a side-effect of the intensifying repression against officials.' 'The state is showing that the old schemes no longer work, that the rules of the game have changed — and so have the demands for loyalty.' According to the expert, the main goal of these measures is to intimidate and to force people to rally around the Kremlin. The message being sent by the state is primarily aimed at the elites — particularly those who have previously flirted with the political opposition, or whose loyalty is otherwise in doubt. The second audience is wealthy individuals outside the political elite. None of them openly criticise the regime — no one dares to anymore — but many are not sufficiently demonstrative in their support for the government and the war in Ukraine. At the same time, they continue trying to move their money abroad. And finally, the third target group: the siloviki, or the security establishment. 'For the siloviki, a lot is changing. Their most stable income streams were bribes and kickbacks from private companies and factories,' explains the expert. 'Now, those opportunities are increasingly transferred to the 'right' people,' he says — people with ties to the Kremlin. 'The state is showing that the old schemes no longer work, that the rules of the game have changed — and so have the demands for loyalty.'
Novaya Gazeta Europe
6 hours ago
- Novaya Gazeta Europe
Ukrainians stuck in buffer zone on Russia-Georgia border declare hunger strike — Novaya Gazeta Europe
Screenshot from a video message sent to Novaya Gazeta Europe by Ukrainian former prisoners stuck at the Russian-Georgian border. Fifteen Ukrainian former prisoners stuck in transit in the buffer zone at the Russian-Georgian Verkhny Lars border crossing informed the head of Georgian customs on Wednesday morning that they were going on hunger strike, men in the group have told Novaya Gazeta Europe directly. In a video message, the Ukrainians also demanded a visit from the Ukrainian consul, an explanation for why they were being held on the border, access to food and medical care, and their release from the basement they are being held in. The men Novaya Europe spoke to stressed that they were not staging the protest 'to annoy the Georgian authorities' but to prompt the Ukrainian authorities into action. The men also sent their statement to the Ukrainian Embassy in Georgia, the Georgian ombudsman, the Georgian Prosecutor General's Office, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UNHCR in Georgia. Last week, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) launched proceedings against Georgia and Ukraine, demanding detailed information by Wednesday on the status of the approximately 100 Ukrainian citizens who currently find themselves in limbo on the border as they do not have passports. About 100 Ukrainian citizens have been stranded in a basement on the Russian-Georgian border for more than two months. Most are former convicts deported from Russia having completed their jail terms, while others are Ukrainian civilians from occupied territories Russia has expelled for opposing the war. A group of the detained men protested the conditions of their detention on 21 July, with one man slitting his throat, though he survived. The Ukrainians also complained that Georgian border guards had used physical force against them and withheld food while they were temporarily evacuated from the basement following a landslide in the area in late July.
