Moscow has been developing a new model of governance for Kaliningrad Oblast in 2016. The changes in the regional government (the governance of the oblast was entrusted to people sent from Moscow and had no links with the region) were…

In the evening on 19 December a truck drove into one of the Berlin Christmas markets.

On 15–16 December, the Russian President Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to Japan, which had originally been scheduled for 2014.

On 18 December, the government in Ukraine decided to nationalise the country’s largest bank, PrivatBank. It has been owned by the oligarchs Ihor Kolomoyskyi and Henadiy Boholyubov.

A snap parliamentary election was held in Macedonia on 11 December. The strongest support was won by the coalition focused on the centre-right party VMRO-DPMNE.

During President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Igor Sechin a public announcement was made about the privatisation of a 19.5% stake in Rosneft. 

The Social Democrats’ excellent result is primarily a result of their efficient election campaign together with the lack of a consistent message from the centre-right. 

The Republic of Moldova is an exceptional state. It was the only Soviet republic to proclaim independence, on 27 August 1991, in order to become part of another state, i.e. Romania, rather than building its own independent political…

The German chancellor was elected the leader of the CDU, by a clear majority of voters, for the ninth time (in 16 years).

The European Commission published its winter package – a series of legislative proposals  regarding the EU energy and climate policies for 2020-2030.