Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has failed to build state institutions to guarantee his country’s sovereignty. Now, amid a moment of weakness, Moscow is stepping in.

The Great Steppe of Eurasia has variously been a bridge and battleground between civilizations. But one thing is now certain: it will be China that will shape the Steppe’s future and the future of those living along its vast plain.

Putin’s Russia is reconciling Stalin, Orthodoxy, and the modern state by crafting a new historical narrative. Beneath the seeming contradictions, the Kremlin is building the first Russian nation-state.

Ukraine failed to develop into a post-communist society and is being torn apart by two visions of its future. Luka Jukic visits Lviv and Odessa to observe these visions, one aimed at Central Europe, the other harkening back to Russian civilization.

For decades, stability in the Balkans has depended on American support. A new Kosovo deal is set to have ripple effects across the region’s ambitious nationalist governments. With the Trump administration desiring withdrawal, the region is on the brink of renewed conflict.

After the Soviet collapse, several countries in the bloc ended up under Western influence. Russia has developed an economic and military toolkit to consolidate its position. However, these same tactics have caused key allies to seek alternative ties in order to balance power in the post-Soviet sphere.

Kazakhstan emerged from the Soviet Union as a poor country under Russian domination. Today, its new capital rises from the steppe and its living standards are improving. Behind this lie both a Eurasianist politics and an authoritarian development model.