Upon the advent of the new decade, it was expected that the 2020s would be challenging even without a major economic crisis or another high-impact, low-probability event after the COVID–19 pandemic.

Russia’s infamous Wagner Group is looking for mercenaries in Serbia, Hungary’s southern neighbour.

Swedish media has suggested that Moscow may be behind the Saturday burning of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

There should be no doubt: images of German tanks making their way across Ukrainian mud to kill Russians would increase the popularity and legitimacy of President Putin’s war.

Although the war on the Ukrainian front is at a standstill at the moment, in the hinterland the West has won a brilliant victory in the heroic fight against Russian culture.

According to press reports, Poland officially objected to Hungary’s request on Wednesday to remove nine names from the list of Russian individuals to be sanctioned.

From Czechia to Ukraine, voters in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe will be going to the polls in 2023.

‘We need the United States and NATO to say to Russia, “Okay, we get it. NATO will not enlarge to Ukraine and to Georgia.” In my view, that is not a defeat of NATO. That is just common sense.’

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine not only opened a new era in geopolitics but also affected the political framework for the protection of national minorities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested a one-and-a-half-day truce in the Russo-Ukrainian war, but the Ukrainian leadership and their Western allies do not want any part of it, considering Moscow’s proposal a sham. To what extent the guns on the front will die down until Saturday evening is highly questionable.

Ukraine used to celebrate Orthodox Christmas Day on 7 January, but as a cultural shift away from Russia, Ukrainians are increasingly keen on celebrating Christmas in December.

Japan’s new National Security Strategy acknowledges that the balance of power has shifted significantly towards China, a country that has been going through a massive military build-up for decades.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the rising strongman of Russia also known as Putin’s chef, is believed to have established the infamous Wagner Group.

In September, Ramzan Kadyrov announced that he might leave his position as President of the Chechen Republic—which has given rise to speculation that he may be interested in pursuing a powerful position at the federal level.

To reassure the public that the government cares for the soldiers in Ukraine and their families, Putin has met with a carefully selected group of mothers whose sons are fighting or have died on the frontline in Ukraine.

Back in 2014, Merkel made it clear that while Europe should pursue a tough policy on Russia, it should also work on a diplomatic solution to end the hostilities. That type of commitment to achieving peace is exactly the approach Europe misses in the current conflict.

Russia has banned the spread of ‘propaganda’ on ’non-traditional’ sexual orientations and gender identities to all age groups (adult or minor) online, in advertisements, films or in public.

In the heart of the city of Sochi there is a photography exhibition dedicated to the ‘Heroes of Operation Z’—propaganda is inescapable for average Russians.

Citing security reasons, Gulyás did not disclose information about when or who will be making an official state visit to Ukraine but said he was aware of a visit being planned.

It is incorrect to believe that protests took place only in the final years of the USSR. Demonstrations and rebellions were an integral part of Soviet history from the very birth of the Empire.

The Great Patriotic War, the Russian Empire and Ukraine are the three recurring themes that constitute the pillars of the Russian President’s historical narrative.

All empires and major powers have a strong sense of their own exceptionality, so criticizing Russia in that regard is not reasonable.

After Peter the Great, Alexander II is known to be the greatest reformer of the Russian Empire. What his rule teaches us is that historic development does not go in a straight line—usually, when a country takes two steps forward, it also takes a step back.

Alexander III of Russia is known to be Putin’s favourite tsar. During his reign, he advocated for Russification, for Russia’s interests in global affairs and for the ‘inviolability of autocracy’.

Unfortunately, relentless propaganda works, and we are wrong to assume or represent it otherwise.

Sanctions that target a whole country instead of specific individuals always hurt the innocent, ordinary people the most. Be these people European citizens who cannot afford to pay their electricity bills, or Central Asians who now live in extreme poverty, generic sanctions punish those the most who are the least responsible.

The Hungarian government has condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine in no uncertain terms but has also been a consistent advocate of an immediate ceasefire and peace talks, offering several times to be a mediator in the conflict.

Ultimately, the fact that Belgium still allows Russian diamond imports means that they are more invested in supplying those living a life of luxury with rare precious stones than in letting people heat their homes in the winter.

‘Everyone thinks that the US is benefitting from the war. I simply would not say that. The US has higher budget expenditures, the US is sending munitions to Ukraine, which they are going to have to replenish. That’s going to be costly, this is all going to be costly.’

War is as much about controlling information as controlling the battlefield. We may never learn who the culprit is behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, but it is clear who benefits from it the most—and who does not.