Phenomena of fear
Osteuropa 10/2025
Lev Gudkov on the roots of fear in Russian society; translation as survival strategy in Soviet Kyiv; why the EU needs to get real on Belarus; what the Armenia–Iran relationship means for the South Caucasus.
In this episode of the Eurozine podcast ‘Gagarin’, we talk to Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins about the ongoing MH17 trial and the recent OPCW report on the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons in Syria. Higgins describes how disinformation works in both cases, who is behind it and what motivates them, and how Bellingcat remains objective in a hyper-partisan media field.
Gagarin, the Eurozine podcast is a series of conversations with authors and editors from throughout Europe and beyond. Our 90+ partners are journals, magazines and associates from Belgium to Belarus, from Norway to Bulgaria, publishing literature and analyzing politics, reflecting on culture and bringing diverse voices to a joint conversation.
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Published 19 August 2020
Original in English
First published by Eurozine
© Eliot Higgins / Eurozine
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Lev Gudkov on the roots of fear in Russian society; translation as survival strategy in Soviet Kyiv; why the EU needs to get real on Belarus; what the Armenia–Iran relationship means for the South Caucasus.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is entering its fifth year. With peace negotiations at a standstill, traumatized communities face a tough question: What does it mean to memorialize a war when its end is nowhere in sight? War crime survivors from Yahidne are actively engaging in how their mass confinement is remembered.