Russia Monitor Monthly 7/23
Content
Finland: Army and Banks Versus Putin’s Friend
Finland has decided to move from words to actions regarding the issue of Russian-owned real property located near Finnish strategic points. The Administrative Court in Helsinki agreed with the Finnish Army on the matter and prohibited Boris Rotenberg, a Russian billionaire, from expanding the construction of property in close proximity to an important military training ground.
Nordic Cooperation in the Russian Shadow
Neutrality will not assure security any longer. In the face of the rising threat posed by their eastern neighbour, Finland and Sweden are developing tighter cooperation with a NATO member, Norway. Helsinki proposed joint, Finnish-Swedish-Norwegian military exercises in the territories which are directly endangered by a land Russian invasion.
Putin-Connected Oligarch Wins Anticorruption Tender
A decision to award a state grant to a company held by Arkady Rotenberg revealed corruption of Putin’s Russia, not to mention its dramatic lack of self-preservation instinct. Rotenberg, who is Putin’s friend, was offered lucrative contracts, including those to build gas pipelines to China and Germany, construct a bridge to Crimea and to prepare infrastructure for Winter Olympic Games.
“Lucjan Skupiewski. Social and Political Biography” – New Warsaw Institute Publication
Warsaw Institute presents a bilingual version of “Lucjan Skupiewski. Social and Political Biography” by dr hab. Andrzej Dubicki, prof. Associate, University of Łódź.
Western Balkans – a Somewhat Forgotten Place on the Map of Europe
In January 2019, Poland assumed an annual presidency of the Berlin Process – a regional cooperation model, initiated in 2014, to support the integration of the Western Balkan countries with the European Union. In the middle of 2019, Poland will host the next EU – Western Balkans Summit.
Romania Will Support Poland in the Nord Stream 2 Issue
One of the first decisions made by Romania after taking the half-year presidency over the European Union Council was the revision of the Gas Directive. Works on this directive may influence the Nord Stream 2 project aiming to connect Russia and Germany the construction of which Poland objects to.
Cooperation Between the Visegrad Countries Regarding Counter-Extremism Operations
With Western European states falling victim to jihadist terrorist attacks every few months, the extremist scene in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia (the V4 states) appears to be comparably calm. Despite this, the V4 states are not immune to the threat of extremism and terrorism and must possess well-developed counter-measures. At a time when all four V4 states are threatened by similar forms of extremism and cannot easily find common ground with other states in the EU, they should expand counter-extremism cooperation at the V4 level.
Visegrad Group and Prevention of Mass Irregular Immigration to Europe
The Visegrad Group’s approach to migration is often described by West European journalists, intellectuals and politicians as nationalistic, populistic and xenophobic. This narrative contributes to the view that the post-communist societies of Central and Eastern Europe are somehow uncivilized, backward and underdeveloped.
The 4th rotation of the Polish Military Contingent in Romania
At the beginning of January, soldiers of the 17th Greater Poland Mechanised Brigade arrived in Craiova to replace their colleagues who have stationed there for the last six months. Therefore, they started a new rotation within which NATO forces are stationing in Romania.
Energy Security: Determining Factors in the Ever–Evolving Perception of the Problem
Comment given by Professor Piotr Kwiatkiewicz for the Warsaw Institute on energy security, history of this phenomenon, its determinants and historical and geopolitical conditions.
US and EU Immigration Policies
It is harder to think of anything more contradictory than the public images of President Donald Trump and Chancellor Angela Merkel on the issue of immigration.
Warsaw – the City that is No More
In 1918, after 123 years under partitions, Poland regained its independence with Warsaw reinstated as its capital, now also home to the highest state institutions. The following two decades saw a dynamic growth of the city with many buildings and public utility premises on the rise.
U.S. Base in Poland Flashes Hands-Off Signal to Putin
Moving forward gives America and its allies every advantage and sends a stronger signal to Vladimir Putin – that he should keep his hands off Western Europe. Forward deployed forces would benefit from that extended conventional umbrella – making forward forces like Fort Trump more survivable.
How Will Brexit Affect Romanian Health Care Workers in the UK?
There are currently around 10,000 Romanians working as doctors and nurses in the UK health care sector. Although the UK is scheduled to leave the European Union in March 2019, the question of the legal status of Romanians working in the British Isles still remains unclear.
Igor Dodon Surrounds Himself with Anti-EU Forces
On December 24, 2018, President Igor Dodon met with the representatives of the Union of Officers of Moldova (Romanian: Uniunea ofițerilor din Moldova), of which he has been a member since 2015 with the rank of reserve major. The organisation brings together former military members whose mission is to promote the idea of patriotism among young people in the spirit of traditions of the Soviet Union and Moldova.
Russian Disinformation: Chemical Provocation
The risk of the outbreak of a military conflict in Ukraine has increased recently. If an open war (less likely) or an armed incident similar to the one in the Kerch Strait (more likely) is to take place, Moscow needs to find a pretext, a very strong one indeed. One such pretext could certainly be the use of chemical weapons in Donbass.
Attitudes of Polish Political Parties towards European Integration
The aim of this text is to analyze agendas of the major political parties in Poland before the upcoming elections to the European Parliament (in 2019).
Winter war in Donbass? Facts and myths
“It is necessary to consider a realistic possibility that Russia could launch a new act of aggression against Ukraine,” the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker said on December 24. Nonetheless, if such a scenario takes place, it will probably turn out to be yet another phase of fighting between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and “People’s Republics” in the Donbass region rather than a regular war between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia, Ukraine, Sanctions. New round
Moscow and Kiev gave each other a “Christmas gift” by extending their sanction lists. On December 25, Russian PM signed a regulation concerning this matter and on December 26 the same decision was made by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. However, the mutually imposed sanctions do not influence the real economic relations between both countries.
Latvia Is Publishing the Communist Archives
On the basis of new regulations accepted in 2018 in Latvia archival documents of the State Security Committee of the Soviet Latvia were revealed. Access to the so-called “Cheka’s bags” is given to everyone. It is enough to enter the subpage of the Latvian archives kgb.arhivi.lv.
Warsaw Institute
