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.
Russia suffered a geopolitical setback following Maduro’s fall. More than that, there are lessons to be drawn from Venezuela shake-up: oil (and gas) cannot save an economy, and the regime can survive without its top man.
Russia’s internet is being reshaped from an infrastructure that once served society, the state, and business into an instrument of control.
Why have neither the weight of sanctions nor the scale of losses on the battlefield pushed the Kremlin toward compromise.
Behind the façade of resilience lies a system increasingly driven by asset seizures, political loyalty, and the enrichment of a new elite.
Russia’s closest ally, Belarus, has been increasing its hybrid operations against its EU neighbors, directing migrants towards their borders and closing its eyes to increasingly brazen smuggling. The goal is to cause instability.
A ceasefire would not simply return things to business as usual, as Russia’s wartime economic reorientation and the deep mistrust will complicate any post-war reset.