is editor of the journal Osteuropa
The current regime in Tbilisi – nominally led by Irakli Garibashvili but with oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili pulling the strings – marks a sea change in Georgia’s gradual pro-western path of development over the past thirty years. For all the faults of past governments, there is no precedent for the authoritarian turn underway since 2020.
Ukrainian arts shed light on a country that for decades has been ignored, repressed and treated as part of Russia. Culture in Ukraine must continue to be practiced and discussed, not despite war but because of it, write the editors of ‘Osteuropa’.
With the abduction of a passenger flight, the Belarusian regime gave up the last remains of its connections to democratic partners. Sanctions may break Lukašenka’s reign economically, but they also take a huge toll on civilians. International attention is fickle, but certain types of support may help in the long run.
‘Russian memory politics represses both the utopia and the violence. It wants neither to know about the perpetrators nor to commemorate the victims.’ The editors of Eurozine partner journal ‘Osteuropa’ reflect on the political meaning of Russia’s official commemoration of 1917.
