The Controversy of Memories - 75 years after the end of the Second World War in Europe Published: 7 May 2020 Film "Different wars: National History Textbooks on the Second World War" - this was the title of a travelling exhibition by the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum. It toured 22 cities in the EU and Russia over the last four years. It showed how current textbooks for secondary schools depict the Second World War in Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and the Czech Republic. The short film accompanying the exhibition will be released on 7 May.
Russia: Pechenegs, Polovetzians and the coronavirus Published: 6 May 2020 Background President Vladimir Putin is facing the greatest challenge of his political career: the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Russia is expected to peak in the next few weeks. Johannes Voswinkel, Head of our Moscow office, reports on timid action, an unexpected crisis manager and the fears of breaking into the reserves. By Johannes Voswinkel
Not Your Father’s Arms Control: Challenges for Stabilizing Military Confrontation in Europe Published: 29 April 2020 Background The old arms control framework between Russia and the West does not work any more. The erosion of central arms control treaties has led to new tensions between NATO and Moscow. A new approach aimed at reducing tensions in Europe must take into account that central geopolitical coordinates have changed, and that new weapon technologies are rendering the old arms control paradigms obsolete. By Igor Istomin
War in Syria: The horror of Idlib Published: 26 February 2020 Comment The recent escalation of violence in Idlib is also a result of the increasing tensions between Turkey and Russia. The victims are those in Idlib, caught up in a hopeless situation amid a huge spectrum of differing interests. By Bente Scheller
Age of mistrust: crisis of co-operative security in Europe Published: 9 December 2019 Analysis The OSCE was designed to promote a culture of cooperative security in Europe. But in recent years military tensions between Russia and the West have flared up again. Can the OSCE help to defuse these tensions and restore confidence in the Euro-Atlantic area? By Pavel Kanevskiy and Juraj Nosál
Russia and Iran: Foreign policy as a balancing act Published: 12 July 2019 Comment Russia’s policy in the Middle East is geared strictly to the country’s interests: to fulfil its role as a major power, stabilise the region and minimise every risk as much as possible. This offers opportunities. By Johannes Voswinkel
Landmines in the Donbass conflict zone: threats for the population and the necessity of mine clearance Published: 17 July 2018 Background The armed conflict between Ukrainian authorities and Russia-backed militias in the Ukrainian Donbass region has already led to some 10,000 killed and 25,000 wounded civilians. Partly landmines are the cause. By Elena Ostanina
LGBTI in Russia: history of success, opportunities and challenges Published: 1 June 2017 Despite the empowerment of the LGBTI movement during the last 20 years, LGBTI people in Russia face extensive legal discrimination, widespread homophobia and even massive violence. By Dr. Irina Kosterina and Julia Bashinova
Russian faux family values: Domestic violence decriminalized in Russia Published: 6 February 2017 Russia is known as a country with a high level of domestic violence. There is no official statistics available, while NGOs concerned with this issue face serious challenges. And now, the Russian legal system has de facto removed an essential protective barrier between assailant and his prey. By Dr. Irina Kosterina
The European Union under authoritarian challenges Published: 15 November 2016 There’s an active interplay between anti-liberal movements and political parties within the EU and an authoritarian challenge from the outside, Ralf Fücks told EurActiv Czech Republic. By Aneta Zachová and Jan Vitásek
Civil society in Russia – Where external support is vital Published: 13 September 2016 Russian NGOs are under pressure: They are hindered in their work with laws and checks by the authorities, paralyzed and driven to close down. External support is not only helpful, but vital. By Johannes Voswinkel
Authoritarian repression under the pretext of sovereignty Published: 13 September 2016 The repression of civil societies activites in countries like Egypt and Russia are justified with the "protection of the states sovereignity" and the "principle of non-intervention". When unwelcomed critique is silenced, activists need all our solidarity and support. By Wolfgang Kaleck and Simon Rau
LGBTI Civil society organizations and the rights to peacefully assemble and associate Published: 13 September 2016 Civil society organisations can be a vanguard of progress for the LGBTI community. Despite the growing number of laws and policies impeding LGBTI advocacy, activists and organisations successfully challenge these trends. By International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL)
Dare to Take Charge: The EU, Areas of Conflict in International Politics, and the Case for Assuming Greater Responsibility Published: 20 June 2016 We cannot quarantine ourselves from the instability that reigns south and east of Europe. Europe must strike a new balance between idealistic foreign policy and realism. The opening address of the 17th Annual Foreign Policy Conference. By Ralf Fücks
A new attempt to resolve the Ukraine conflict Published: 14 April 2016 The Minsk agreement has come to a standstill. From Ukraine can't accept bogus elections in Donbass and grant autonony to puppet republics while Russia simultaneously expand its power in the region. By Ralf Fücks and Marieluise Beck
Moscow Office - Russian Federation Published: 22 June 2015 For now, the revocation of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s registration by the Russian Federation marks the end of 30 years of dedicated work in this country.
LGBTI rights: "The change cannot be reverted" Published: 12 May 2015 May 17th is the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. Renato Sabbadini, Executive Director of the international LGBTI-Association ILGA, talks about positive and negative developments of LGBTI-rights. By Caroline Ausserer and Renato Sabbadini
Conference documentation: Europe one year after the annexation of Crimea Published: 24 March 2015 At the beginning of March, international experts discussed at the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation in Berlin Europe’s response to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine. They all agreed on Europe lacking a long-term strategy.
When choosing means losing Published: 17 March 2015 The trade relations of the six countries of the Eastern Partnership is a complex web of discrepancies. They have assigned different association agreements with Russia and the EU. The coexistence of these two models of economic integration poses challenges - and problems. By Heidi Hautala
Challenges for Europe’s Policies Towards Eastern Europe Published: 16 March 2015 The crisis in Ukraine with all its reverberations comes at a moment when the EU and the European project are very weak and while international insecurity is on the rise. As a result the Perspectives for the EU’s Eastern Partnership will have to change. By Francisco de Borja Lasheras
