Alexander Malyarenko is an expert in the field of macroeconomic analysis and transformation processes in Eastern Europe. He has been published extensively as the author and co-author of over 20 papers in highly regarded, peer-reviewed journals. He frequently speaks at international conferences and is a regular columnist in leading media outlets in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Belarus. Alexander is an associate member of expert groups and think tanks in Lithuania (BVART) and France (Eastern Circles) focusing on economic development in Eastern Europe.
The Russian state is embedding war into the routine of growing up, lowering the threshold of habituation to violence, obedience and the official language of war.
The Baltic countries have already demonstrated their economic independence and competitiveness as members of the European Union. What they are now asked to do is prove their ability to withstand Russia's hybrid attacks.
Ukraine’s bombing campaign behind the frontlines is taking a growing toll on Russia's economy. The Kremlin will soon have to choose between continuing the war, which would entail serious economic losses and a new mobilization, or de-escalating, which would mean giving up some of its demands.
Russian has been, for several hundred years, a tool for promoting Moscow's policies. Tsarist Russia used it as a tool of imperial assimilation, the Soviet Union as a carrier of communist ideology, and Putin's Russia as a marker of its claimed sphere of influence.
Russia claims to be a global power and is trying to show it in Africa, where it seeks to revive USSR’s former influence and, at the same time, make money. Moscow's African policy, however, is limited to exporting grains, (cheap) weapons and mercenaries. Also, Russia wants to avoid stepping on China’s toes in Africa, given its dependency on Beijing since it invaded Ukraine.
As Russia moved past the economic turmoil of the 1990’s, the country saw the emergence of a so-called middle class, which was expected to push the country towards democracy. However, that middle class was dependent on the state, and that dependency kept it firmly in Putin’s camp.