Belarus Archives - ICDS

Belarus

The Role of Russia In the Political Transition of the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood

The Russian political establishment has always been convinced that Russia’s national interests as a “great power” extend beyond its borders and that the post-Soviet space is a territory of Russia’s exclusive geopolitical domination. Моscow, therefore, immediately characterized the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative as a project aimed to project the EU’s soft power onto its neighbouring countries and reduce their dependence on Russian influence.

Publications

The Iron Leviathan: Russia’s Rail Network in its War against Ukraine

Russia has historically been a ‘railway empire’ that relies heavily on its railways to bind together vast lands of the biggest country in the world. The rail lines are the essential logistics routes for the entirety of Russian ground operations and war economy building upon the imperial and soviet legacy.

Publications

Accelerator for a Geopolitical Europe: Potential Impact of Ukraine’s Membership on EU Foreign, Security, and Defence Policy

The EU has embarked on a new eastward enlargement at the time of a major breaking point in European and international order. It is obvious that Ukraine’s accession will bring about substantial changes in the EU’s policies and international clout.

Publications

The New Geopolitical Landscape in The EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood: Fragmentation of Economic Ties Post February 2022

Russia’s full-scale and genocidal invasion of Ukraine has already brought substantial changes to the relations of EU Eastern neighbourhood countries with Moscow, while its consequences are reshaping the geopolitical balance in the region.

Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation,

Publications

Defending the Union. Zapad-2021

The quadrennial exercise, Zapad, often prompts speculation that its real purpose is to provide cover for Russia to build up forces to attack a neighbouring state. This year’s iteration of the exercise took place during a tense period, with NATO-Russia relations at a low point, Russia moving large military units near Ukraine, and Minsk driven closer into Moscow’s embrace.

Commentary

Zapad-2021—Logistics and Key Fighting Concepts

Between 10–16 September 2021, Russia and its ally Belarus conducted the active phase of the Zapad-2021 command-staff exercise. Zapad tests Russian warfighting capabilities in the Western operational direction and thus it has a strong anti-NATO character. This has always been the case.

In 2021 when the Taliban regained power over Afganistan, Estonia and Norway were co-penholders of the Afghanistan file in the UN Security Council. Pictured Taliban fighters taking control of the Afghan presidential palace after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

Commentary

Small States at the Top of Global Diplomacy: Different Tactics of Estonia and Norway on the UN Security Council

In 2021, Estonia and Norway serve as elected members on the UN Security Council. What can elected Council members hope to achieve in a setting marked by great power tensions and ineffective working procedures?

Migrants gathering on the Belarusian-Polish border in the Grodno region, Belarus, in November 2021.

Commentary

Conventional Wars have Fallen Out of Fashion. Grey-zone Aggression is the New Thing

When Belarus suddenly began bringing migrants to Lithuania’s border this summer to create a refugee crisis on the Lithuanian side, people were surprised and aghast. They should not have been.

Commentary

Between Bad, Worse, and Worst: Europe Faces Tough Tests This Winter

Europe is under growing pressure from the East. First, the dictator of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, after a test run of weaponised waves of migrants against the Lithuanian and Latvian borders over the summer, has now sent not just hundreds but thousands of migrants to breach the borders of the European Union. Kuźnica, on the Polish border, was only the first major attempt; many more are likely to follow to coerce the EU into accepting the regime in Minsk as legitimate and lifting the sanctions.

A general view shows the Mulino training ground during the active phase of the military exercises "Zapad-2021" staged by the armed forces of Russia and Belarus in Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia, September 11, 2021. The drills also involve military personnel from Armenia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.

Commentary

Is Zapad 2021 Any Different from Zapad 2017?

It is still too early to make any conclusions about Russia’s large-scale strategic-operational exercise Zapad 2021, but it is possible to identify at least three developments that have taken place since the Zapad 2017 exercise.

News

April 16, 2025

Kristi Raik for the IPQ: The Case for Nordic-Baltic Pragmatism
Europe’s dilemma is that it needs to try and keep the United States on boar...
April 4, 2025

The EU Conversations 2025: Europe for the New Age
On 4 April, ICDS is co-organising a high-level international conference in...
March 14, 2025

NATO Enlargement: Is the Door Still Open after Finland and Sweden?
Kristi Raik’s article on „NATO enlargement: is the door still open after Fi...
February 19, 2025

EU Enlargement – Is There a “Renewed Impetus” at This Difficult Time?
Today, on 19 February, the European Union Enlargement Conference (EUEC) tak...

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