There was the assumption that, when the Central and Eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004 and 2007, they would continue their democratic and economic transformation. More than a decade later, the region is experiencing a decline in democratic standards and governance practices at the same time that Russia’s economic grip on the region seems to have strengthened. Political movements and figures in the region have increasingly sought to align themselves with the Kremlin – and with illiberalism. This event will present the findings of the study The Kremlin Playbook: Understanding Russian Influence in Central and Eastern Europe, which has been recently published by the Center for the Study of Democracy in partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Its authors describe the nature of the Russian economic footprint in the economics of the region based on studies of Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Latvia.

Speakers:

• Ruslan Stefanov, Director of the Economic Program, Center for the Study of Democracy, Sofia, and Coordinator of the Southeast European Leadership for Development and Integrity (SELDI), Sofia 
• Martin Vladimirov, Energy Security Expert, Center for the Study of Democracy, Sofia

Discussants:

• Mikhail Krutikhin, Carnegie Moscow Center and Partner in RusEnergy, an independent consulting agency 
• Hans-Peter Hinrichsen, Head of Division 205 (Russia, Belarus, Moldova, CIS; EU), German Federal Foreign 

Office Chair:

• Stefan Meister, Head of the Robert Bosch Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia, DGAP

The event will be held in English. Lunch will be served before the event (12:00– 12:30 pm).

Please RSVP to Yulia Loeva by email or fax (loeva@dgap.org, +49 [0]30 25 42 31 91).

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Time & Location

Thursday, January 26, 2017  |  12:30 - 2:00 pm

German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
Rauchstraße 17, 10787 Berlin

Please find more information here.