Uncategorized
“Everything was staged!” How Russian propaganda machine works
The Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels would probably feel like an immature student were he to see the operation of the Kremlin propaganda machine. […]
Russia
Opinion
Uncategorized
Russia unlikely to cut gas for Lithuania as Kaliningrad would suffer
Russia is unlikely to impose any restrictions on natural gas exports to Lithuania as this would affect its Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, a SEB Bankas economist said on Monday. […]
Uncategorized
Economy
IMF warns Lithuania about effects of Russia sanctions
Lithuania and other Eastern European economies with close links with Russia could be seriously affected by a slowdown in the Russian economy or the sanctions imposed by the West against Moscow, analysts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have said. […]
Economy
Lithuanian businesses will not collapse due sanctions for Russia, says economist
Gitanas Nausėda, advisor to the president of SEB Bank, claims that a slowdown in the Russian economy, triggered by various EU and US sanctions, will affect Lithuanian exports which are retail-oriented. […]
Foreign affairs
Uncategorized
Vladimir Putin’s pyramid of rule: Who really governs Russia?
In Lithuania and in the West, Putin’s system of rule is still often described as a monolith pyramid. In the eyes of society, Putin manages to present himself as an irreplaceable leader-statesman (‘tsar’, according to the West), solely making key decisions. But such an understanding of ruling processes in Russia is one of the main mistakes which prevents from obtaining a deeper insight into the regime’s origins and foundations. […]
Uncategorized
Belarus: Asymmetric ties and a balancing act
The geopolitical perspective that Belarus is being squeezed between Russia and the European Union remains relevant. New information continues to reveal modest but noticeable attempts to improve Belarus’s relations with the West as well as the ambivalent role of Russia, Belarus’s most important ally and sponsor. […]
Uncategorized
Amid Crisis, Belarus re-examines its political and security situation
Belarus will host the latest round of talks between Ukraine and Russia in Minsk on 1 August as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko continues to push his country as a mediator in the crisis. Lukashenko’s motivation is not altruistic, however, as Belarus is not immune to the competition between Russia and the West over the strategic borderland countries of the former Soviet periphery. […]
Uncategorized
Russia-NATO: No “business as usual”
On 22 July, President Vladimir Putin addressed the Russian Security Council and effectively declared the demise of cooperation between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Putin covered issues linked to the crisis in Ukraine, rejected Western allegations of Russia’s de facto involvement in the downing of Flight MH17, and then turned to security challenges stemming from NATO. […]
Defence
Society
Uncategorized
European Union
EU secures WTO panel over Russian pork ban
The European Union has been granted a panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to address complaints Russia‘s ban on EU pork imports. […]
Society
Mission Siberia 2014 back in Lithuania
The team of Mission Siberia 2014 has returned to Lithuania after two weeks of taking care of cemeteries of Lithuanian deportees in Krasnoyarsk region, Russia. […]
Defence
Germany does not approve of NATO’s military expansion to Poland and Baltic States
The German government does not approve of Poland’s and Baltic States’ request to expand NATO military presence in Eastern European countries, writes Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. […]
Uncategorized
Foreign affairs
Sanctions against Russia won’t affect Lithuania directly
Economic sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia will not have any direct effect on Lithuania, since the countries are not involved in bilateral trade in weapons or energy technologies, which are subject to the ban, Lithuania’s Deputy Foreign Minister says, adding that the sanctions will slow down Russia’s economic growth, which will affect the demand for Lithuanian goods in the neighbouring country. […]
Society
Mission Siberia: Looking for disappearing graves of Lithuanian deportees thousands kilometres from home
Sixteen members of Mission Siberia 2014 have cleaned up graves at nine cemeteries of Lithuanian deportees in the Russian region of Krasnoyarsk and are coming back to Vilnius on Friday. […]