Russia’s War in Ukraine: The War in Cyberspace
The second brief in the “Russia’s War in Ukraine” series concerns the war in cyberspace.
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Information Warfare
Forgotten and Potentially Vulnerable: Why the Online Activity of Middle-Aged Women Matters During Global Information Warfare
This paper offers its readers a closer look at one particular aspect of global information confrontation – the variable vulnerability of different demographic groups to digital disinformation. In particular, it looks into the online behaviour of middle-aged women (those aged between 45 and 65 years), who are frequent recipients of disinformation messages.
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Why Does Resilience Need a Telescope to Prevent Disinformation?
As the fog of war is always thick with lies and half-truths, it is useful not just for high-ranking decision-makers but also for regular citizens to maintain their practical sense of resilience against harmful disinformation. We must remain pragmatically calm in our everyday behaviour and see problems not just in terms of their immediate impact but also in relation to longer time frames and the variability of predictable consequences.
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Putin’s Ultimatum: High Stakes Poker, or a Chess Gambit?
Russia’s approach toward Ukraine does not seem to be the result of well-considered foreign policy calculations, rather it represents constant improvisation, as evidenced by numerous inconsistencies in the Kremlin’s actions.
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Another Provocative Test of Ukraine’s Societal Resilience
The attention being paid to the geopolitical implications of the situation developing on the Russia-Ukraine border should not overshadow the need to also respond to Russia’s day-to-day manipulation of Ukrainian society, especially in the regions located near occupied Crimea and the frontline in eastern Ukraine.
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Sputnik V is a Geopolitical Soft-power Weapon
The medical success of Sputnik V would—like any other coronavirus vaccine—doubtless benefit mankind, but its use as a geopolitical soft-power weapon would certainly further worsen the already critically bad relations between Russia and the West.
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Cult of War: Russia Actively Promotes Militarism Among the Youth of the Crimea
In the occupied Crimea, promoting militarism among the youth of the Crimea is a consistent, large-scale, purposeful process, aimed at suppressing individuality and raising obedient and motivated soldiers for the Russian armed forces. The militarisation starts in the kindergartens or even at birth.
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Democracy, ‘Alternative Reality’ and Estonia’s Resilience
The brief explores reasons why the concerns, grievances and perceptions of all vulnerable societal groups should receive adequate attention if further harm inflicted by fact-free and/or fact-twisting ‘alternative realities’ is to be averted.
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The Bronze Soldier Crisis of 2007: Revisiting an Early Case of Hybrid Conflict
This report revisits the spring 2007 crisis in Estonia, centred on the World War II memorial known as the Bronze Soldier statue. The crisis is well-known both in Estonia and abroad. It was one of the first wake-up calls to the cooling of relations between Russia and the West. It also involved the first use of wide-ranging cyber-attacks against a state.
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Clashes Between Old and New Historical Consciousness
As collective memories have a tendency to fade away, it is imperative to embed the kernel of lessons learned from the modern history of Europe into formal and informal education and new media formats that appeal to the young to shape their values and attitudes towards democratic principles.
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