A scholarly journal from the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES) Södertörn University, Stockholm.
Issue 2026, 1: Download.
Elena Marushiakova is a holder of ERC Advanced Grant 2015, “Roma Civic Emancipation Between the Two World Wars”, and President of the Gypsy Lore Society. She is affiliated to the School of History at the University of St. Andrews. She has published widely on Roma in Bulgaria, Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe.
Vesselin Popov works at the School of History at the University of St. Andrews. Conducts research in frames of ERC Advanced Grant 2015, “Roma Civic Emancipation Between the Two World Wars”. Has published widely on Roma in Bulgaria, Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe.
In this essay there is a discussion whether the recent developments in the Serbian and Croatian legislations on minority rights represent one occasion on which the EU’s informal engagement has exerted a beneficial influence. It is also noted that, throughout the last decade, the roles of Serbia and Croatia as kin states to ethnic Serbs in Croatia and ethnic Croats in Serbia has been constructive.
The history and sociology of the telephone in Russian society have only slowly become the object of serious study. The scope of this essay is limited to the following two topics: first, the forms of use, in pre-revolutionary Russia and the Soviet Union, of the telephone as a means of communication, potentially universally available and “horizontal” but actually restricted by “vertical” forces; and second, the symbolism that accumulated around this means of communication in Russian and Soviet culture.
Interviews from three communities in a Russian region illustrate that there are many new opportunities for potential women entrepreneurs, while there are also many at times unpredictable obstacles to overcome.
It’s hard to say whether the revival of icons is the outcome of rising religiosity in general, a growing need to manifest one’s faith, or simply the search for some kind of salvation in a time of political and economic uncertainty. Nancy Westman went to St. Petersburg for a closer study of modern iconography; she also spoke to a couple of Swedish iconographers.
Though once very controversial in the context of the Cold War, Fitzpatrick’s view of totalitarianism in the Soviet Union as something complex, full of contradictions and of different kinds of agency, has now become a commonplace in Russian studies.
There can be no doubt that Russia has again surprised Western commentators; there had been a good consensus that there would not be major political opposition in Russia,that civil society is weak and there were no alternatives around. Now we have to develop a much more sophisticated analysis. In this article I will concentrate on two issues: legitimacy and interests.
Croatia is finally at the doorstep of the EU. Now the door is open and there is no need to knock and wait to get in. Croatia will be part of Eu and be able to participate and be active in social, economic and political projects of common interest.
The author has been following the protest against Putin through Facebook and a number of internet portals and claims that "even through the distance that any media technology always creates, one could not help feeling deeply affected by the joyous festivities during the protest events – tens of thousands strong manifestations, marches, flash mobs, and car rallies". "The idea that a political change must precede an economic discussion prevails. In the absence of a social program, the carnival feature of the protest movement becomes the uniting principle pulling together people who otherwise would have never ever acted together.".
Next Sunday, on March 4, presidential elections are held in Russia. The likely winner of the elections, Vladimir Putin, has been known already for five months but during these five months Russian political climate has changed significantly.
On February 18, Latvia held a referendum on amendments to the Constitution (Satversme) that would make Russian a second official language. Discussions about this referendum have been very emotional. The sensitivity of the question resulted in the second-highest turnout of voters (71.12% ) for a referendum, just slightly lower than in the 2003 referendum on joining the European Union (71.49%). The proposal was rejected, so Russian did not become the second official language of Latvia and therefore an EU language.