In this episode Adam and Alexandra open up with a discussion on the latest news in the region including Georgia’s president surviving an impeachment proceeding; Viktor Orban’s meeting in China; latest on Nagorno-Karabakh and developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main interview features Anna Wójcik, co-founder and editor of “Rule of Law in Poland” and The Wiktor Osiatyński Archive, a rule of law monitoring project. She is also a Humboldt Foundation Fellow at the Max Planck Institute of...

This episode opens up with a brief rundown of the results of Poland’s parliamentary elections held on Sunday October 15th, Adam and Alexandra provide their brief analysis and what the results mean – especially considering the fact that the ruling Law and Justice party will not likely be able to form another government – a significant victory to the opposition. After that Alexandra is joined by Julie George is a political scientist and professor with faculty appointments at Columbia...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode we welcome the newest co-host of Talk Eastern Europe Alexandra Karppi! Alexandra is a research analyst at Freedom House covering the Western Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe for Nations in Transit. She has also held research and editorial positions at the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Central European University’s Center for European Neighborhood Studies, and the...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo appear to be once again on the rise with the most recent outbreak of violence in Northern Kosovo on September 24th. Meanwhile there seems to be no end in sight for resolving the dispute between the two countries despite attempts to moderate the conflict by the EU and the US. In this episode, following a brief update of the news, Adam discusses the issues of Serbia and...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj This episode of Talk Eastern Europe opens with Adam’s rundown of some of the latest headlines in the region, including the Polish visa scandal, Slovak elections, the growing tensions surrounding Ukrainian grain and the escalation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Later, Adam is joined by Alina Frolova, an expert and deputy chair of the Center for Defense Strategies in Kyiv. She is a former Deputy Minister of...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj On August 23rd 2023, the founder and leader of the Russian mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash in Russia. Prigozhin’s death comes exactly two months after Prigozhin led a mutiny of Wagner soldiers in Russia, almost making it to Moscow before turning back. The death of Prigozhin clearly has the marks of a Putin-led assassination. What does it say about the Putin power structure? What is...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj Talk Eastern Europe is back after the short August break. Adam opens the episode with a rundown of the most important stories that took place over the last several weeks, including the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, F-16s for Ukraine, the Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin Corridor and Georgia’s attempts to impeach its president. Later, Adam is joined by Mark Temnycky, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj As this is Aga's last episode as a co-host, her and Adam start with a reflection on their cooperation over the past year and a half, with a surprise entrance by another former co-host, Maciek Makulski! They then discuss current developments in the region, including the arrest of prominent Russian pro-war blogger Igor Girkin and the continuous Russian missile strikes against Odesa following Moscow's...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode, Adam and Agnieszka open with a discussion of the most recent news in the region, in particular Ukraine’s attack against the Kerch Strait bridge as well as Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal, and its consequences. Later, Adam is joined Yulia Kazdobina, head of the Ukrainian Foundation for Security Studies and a senior fellow with the foreign policy council “Ukrainian Prism”. ...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode Adam and Aga discuss the NATO summit which took place this week in Vilnius, with a particular focus on what its conclusions mean for Ukraine. They also talk about political tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina as Republika Srpska's Milorad Dodik stands up to High Representative Christian Schmidt. The news section concludes with reports that the Lachin corridor has now been completely blocked...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj Aga and Adam start this episode by discussing the upcoming NATO summit, fears linked to a potential nuclear sabotage at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and tensions between Ukraine and Georgia over the state of health of Mikheil Saakashvili. Aga then sits down with Marek Menkiszak, the Head of the Russian Department at the Centre for Eastern Studies in Poland and a lecturer at the Centre for East...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode of Talk Eastern Europe Adam and Agnieszka open with a discussion of the perplexing events that took place over the weekend in Russia with the half-attempted insurrection lead by the Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin. Later, Adam is joined by Mark Fisher, documentary filmmaker and CEO and founder of Fisher Creative. Mark describes how he and his team decided to create a documentary film...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj Adam and Aga start this episode by discussing the start of the long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive, the apparent move by the Russian Defence Ministry to take over Wagner Group troops, and the results of recent elections in Montenegro. We then turn towards Bulgaria, which has seen five parliamentary elections in the past two years, the latest of which has just resulted in the formation of what our...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Adam and Agnieszka catch up over the most recent developments, mainly the political situation currently unfolding in Poland around the new law on Russian influence as well as the massive opposition-organised march which took place last weekend. They also discuss the news coming out of Ukraine, namely the Russian blowing of the dam at Nova Kakhovka which has the...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode Adam and Aga start by discussing the latest mass drone and missile attacks on Kyiv. Afterwards, Aga reluctantly summarises the controversy around Poland's newly approved special commission which could be used by the government to target opposition figures ahead of parliamentary elections this fall. We wrap up the news section with an update on the Turkish presidential election and the...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode Adam and Agnieszka discuss some of the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine, including the likely full capture of Bakhmut by Russian forces, the curious case of the Free Russian Legion incursion into the Belgorod region, the results of the G7 summit as well as a recent pro-EU rally in Moldova. During the main interview, Adam is joined by his colleague, Adam Balcer – the program...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode Adam and Aga talk catch up on the latest news in the region, including the many speculations about the health of Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka. They also briefly note some Ukrainian advances in Bakhmut ahead of its expected counter offensive as well as the never-ending story of Bulgaria’s election drama, which may have an end in sight (or not). Afterwards, Adam sits down with...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode Adam and Aga discuss an eventful week involving a drone attack on the Kremlin, Wagner Group's chief threatening the withdrawal of his troops from Bakhmut and the European Commission reaching an agreement with Ukraine's EU neighbours to lift bans on the transport of Ukrainian grain. Aga then sits down with Dr Jade McGlynn to discuss her newly published book "Russia's War". Written in the...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode Adam and Aga discuss the publication of the latest, rebranded issue of New Eastern Europe, followed by news updates on Russia's missile strikes on Ukraine, a phone call between Presidents Zelenskyy and Xi, and Poland enforcing the recovery of its properties from Russia in Warsaw. Aga then sits down with a repeat TEE guest, Francis Farrell - a reporter working for The Kyiv Independent in...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode, Adam and Aga recap some of the developments in the region including a new Azerbaijani check point installed at the Lachin corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh as well as the upcoming visit of Pope Francis to Hungary. During the main interview of the episode, Adam interviews Victoria Leukavets, a researcher with the Stockholm Centre for Eastern Europeans Studies. They go through most recent...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj This episode opens with Adam and Agnieszka discussing the latest news, including the sentencing of Vladimir Kara-Murza, the US intelligence leaks as well as the Polish government’s decision to ban Ukrainian grain import. Later, Adam sits down with Megan Buskey, an American writer and researcher, to discuss her book “Ukraine Is Not Dead Yet: A Family Story of Exile and Return”. The book follows Megan’s...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode Adam and Aga discuss the main developments of the past weeks, including Alexander Lukashenka's State of the Nation Address, Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow, the much-awaited equipment deliveries to Ukraine and the arrest of The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Moscow. We then move on to the main topic of this episode - Estonia. Despite being a small country, both physically and...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode, Adam and Aga start by discussing the ongoing battle for Bakhmut, first pledges of jet fighters for Ukraine and the, at the time of recording, upcoming visit of Xi Jinping to Moscow. The discussion then moves to the situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, where the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor - the sole link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia - has caused a humanitarian...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj With this episode, we close a mini-series on memory politics in Central and Western Europe. This time we look at the Spanish case of the Valle de Cuelgamuros. The Francisco Franco-time monumental historical site and mass grave of the victims of the 1930s civil war is an ongoing issue for Spanish society and politics. With the help of two outstanding experts in the field – Paula O'Donohoe and Francisco...

Support the podcast, become a patron, get additional benefits: https://bit.ly/3nMGeYj In this episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Adam and Agnieszka start out with a discussion on the state of Russian influence in the region with a focus on Georgia and Moldova. Later, Agnieszka provides a brief rundown of the recent Estonian elections. For the main interview, Adam is joined by Grigol Julukhidze - the director of the Foreign Policy Council, a think tank in Tbilisi. He specialises in security...