2017 has seen a wave of dismissals of the heads of Russia’s regions – the largest in the past five years. This is linked primarily to the preparations for the presidential election.

On 6 December Vladimir Putin announced that he will run in the presidential election to be held  on 18 March 2018.

Much seems to indicate that the Ulyukaev case is an element of the rivalry of opposing groups of interest inside the Russian ruling elite.

Both in Germany and abroad, the commentary on the recent elections in Germany has been dominated by the analysis of the results scored by AfD.

Over the past three years, a distinct change has become visible in the ideological discourse of the government of Belarus.

Despite the fact that more than 60 years have passed since the death of Joseph Stalin, the leader of the USSR from 1922 to 1953, the memory of him remains alive. 

In September, three out of five members of the supervisory board of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s largest gas company, announced their resignation.

Despite China’s growing involvement in Central and Eastern Europe, Beijing has not succeeded in making an attractive offer to the region’s EU member states.

The Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2017 exercises, scheduled for 14–20 September, have for many months been the core of an information war between Russia and NATO. 

FDP’s defeat in the 2013 elections was viewed as the end of the German liberal party. However, the FDP’s new leader has managed to radically change the party’s image.