Watch Your Step
NEED TO KNOW Watch Your Step UKRAINE Some say the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia appears to be failing. “I think that the […]
Going A-Courting
NEED TO KNOW Going A-Courting RUSSIA Russian President Vladimir Putin was on a charm offensive at the recent Russia–Africa Summit in St. […]
Boilergeddon
NEED TO KNOW Boilergeddon GERMANY Many environmentalists, including the eco-minded politicians in the Green Party in Germany, believe heat pumps will save […]
The Peace Dividend
NEED TO KNOW The Peace Dividend UKRAINE Former American President Donald Trump recently said that, if he resided in the White House […]
Winning Minds, Losing Hearts
NEED TO KNOW Winning Minds, Losing Hearts SPAIN “Sanchismo” might be the wedge issue in Spain’s general election on July 23. That’s […]
The Autocrat, the Lapdog
NEED TO KNOW The Autocrat, the Lapdog BELARUS Belarussian artist and political dissident Ales Pushkin, 57, recently died in prison from an […]
Ubiquitous Aggression and Violence
NEED TO KNOW Ubiquitous Aggression and Violence SERBIA Throngs of Serbians flocked to the capital of Belgrade recently to protest against Pink […]
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop
NEED TO KNOW Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop RUSSIA The Wagner Group, the Russian military contractor, arrived in the Central African Republic (CAR) […]
Humbled but Unbowed
NEED TO KNOW Humbled but Unbowed RUSSIA Now that Russian President Vladimir Putin has survived Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group’s apparent […]
Western Outpost in the East
NEED TO KNOW Western Outpost in the East LITHUANIA One of Lithuania’s first post-independence leaders after the fall of the Soviet Union […]
AI, Meet Europe
NEED TO KNOW AI, Meet Europe EUROPEAN UNION The European Parliament recently overwhelmingly passed the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act. While the […]
Pugachevshchina
NEED TO KNOW Pugachevshchina RUSSIA In the 1770s, a Cossack named Emelian Pugachev rebelled against Catherine the Great. As described in Alexander […]
Contextual Legacies
NEED TO KNOW Contextual Legacies BELGIUM History has been stirring passion in Belgium as the country prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary […]
When the Levee Breaks
NEED TO KNOW When the Levee Breaks RUSSIA/ UKRAINE Theories abound about the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in Russian-occupied southern […]
Settlement of Evil
NEED TO KNOW Settlement of Evil POLAND A mile-long mass of hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Warsaw, […]
Far North Face Off
NEED TO KNOW Far North Face Off NORWAY Norwegian officials recently warned their citizens to avoid Hvaldimir, a beluga whale that swims […]
Enmity, Long and Deep
NEED TO KNOW Enmity, Long and Deep KOSOVO Kosovo declared independence in 2008, around a decade after NATO bombed Serbian forces who […]
Balkan Malaise
NEED TO KNOW Balkan Malaise ALBANIA Men from remote mountain regions have been among the majority of the more than 12,000 Albanians […]
Russian Reveille
NEED TO KNOW Russian Reveille RUSSIA Twenty-three years ago, respected Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen penned an op-ed in the New York Times […]
Swinging Politics
NEED TO KNOW Swinging Politics SPAIN Aficionados of Spanish history will likely know that the fascists won the country’s civil war in […]
Tough Love
NEED TO KNOW Tough Love GREECE Eight years ago, at the peak of the migration crisis in Europe, around one million Syrian […]
Strongman Down
NEED TO KNOW Strongman Down TURKEY Turkish politicians have been appealing to voters in the Mediterranean city of Mersin in the run-up […]
A Pyrrhic Victory
NEED TO KNOW A Pyrrhic Victory UKRAINE Ukrainian commanders have been establishing protected supply lines and funneling soldiers and weapons to Bakhmut, […]