Can we speak about our former enemies and talk to them, or shall we keep the distance, ignore and insist that they are not worth our attention? I’ve concluded the following: if we are scared of something, we tend to pretend that it simply does not exist. If we are able to look into the eyes of the former enemy, it means that today we are ready to stand up to them again and defend our beliefs. […]
The world is still waiting for measures of the Minsk Agreement to be implemented. Ukraine experiences continual military confrontation, and situation in Debaltseve region has also worsened dramatically. According to the recent information thousands of Ukrainian troops could again be trapped in the Debaltseve boiler. The Ukrainian side denies siege possibilities, whereas separatists inform on their achievements in encircling Ukrainian troops. […]
This is probably the most difficult piece in my life. […]
Any battle between the Russian state and its political opponents has always been an unequal contest, since the state brings an overwhelming superiority to such confrontations. This disparity is as true today as it was during the Soviet Union’s fight against dissidents and imperial Russia’s struggle against diverse revolutionary movements. […]
Vladimir Putin will not stop by himself, he needs to be stopped. And if he has no intention of stopping, there shouldn’t even be a mention of retreating. […]
They say that a so-called information war is raging and that we’re in it. A war is a war – there are friends and enemies, military action, military logic and discipline. […]
There is no doubt who gained most from the deal reached in Minsk on February 12th to end the conflict in Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin. At a minimum, a frozen conflict will block Ukraine’s progress towards NATO and the EU; and if fighting resumes, the terms of the ceasefire will leave Ukrainian forces in a weaker position than now. […]
For over a decade now we in Lithuania are being told that Germany is always indulging Russia. This line of criticism has lost some steam recently, after Angela Merkel played a crucial role in adopting hard sanctions on Russia. However, recent efforts by her and French President François Hollande to find a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict have rekindled suspicions that there are plans to indulge Russia and betray Ukraine. […]
Don’t tell anyone, but I actually dislike saving money. When I decide to buy something more expensive, like another lens for my camera, I borrow from my wife instead of saving part of my wages for a few months. Then I repay the money according to a pre-set schedule to her just like to a lending company. […]
Recently at a conference in Tver on issues of Stalinist history, an historian friend of mine from Novosibirsk asked me “Do you really hate Russians?” […]
What distinguishes Lithuania on the map of EU member states preparation toward 2014-2020 frameworks is agile and also transparent preparation process. From the governance system point of view it looks similar to other EU countries, as there is a “super ministry” coordinating the EU funds related process in general, and various Management Authorities (ministries, national funds, development agencies), which operate closer to final beneficiaries. […]
The Lithuanian authorities have just blurted out a major state secret: the round-the-clock surveillance of “Independence”, a floating liquefied natural gas storage and regasification unit in the seaport of Klaipėda, a guarantor of the country’s energy security and national pride, might be insufficient and, disturbingly, flawed. […]
Tuesday marked the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Tanks of the First Ukrainian Front broke through the enclosures 70 years ago. […]
Why have we seen an intensification of military action in eastern Ukraine? Government forces report that Russian troops are pushing towards not just Donetsk Airport, but essentially in all directions. This way, all previous predictions about how the military conflict will only smoulder during the winter but won’t advance have burst like soap bubbles. Fierce fighting has recommenced, civilians are dying as well as soldiers. […]
What a silly title, I thought after I wrote it. There is no such thing in Lithuania. There was a Holocaust, but there is no museum. It should have been here twenty-five years ago, but it’s still not here. A kind of anniversary. Cynical and macabre. More cynical than the long decades when the word “Holocaust” was not to be pronounced, let alone capitalized… […]
The Russian Federation’s propaganda and other aggressive actions in the information space have recently been the subject of buoyant discussion within the context of events in eastern Ukraine. Crucial, however, to an in-depth and factual debate on this subject is to take a look at the historical context and roots of the new Russian propaganda. […]
“The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the US Congress—and in the American body politic writ large—to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense.” That’s Secretary of Defense Bob Gates on his way out of office, back in 2011. […]
The Snow Meeting is a highlight of the European security calendar. It is like Davos, except that it is smaller and full of people who really know what is going on (Davos is full of people who would like to know what is going on). […]
Copyright © 2026 | MH Magazine WordPress Theme by MH Themes