Wer sind die Menschen und Familien mit Russlandhintergrund in Deutschland? Wie prägen Familien, Medien und die Schule ihre politischen und gesellschaftlichen Haltungen? Alexey Yusupov und Félix Krawatzek sprechen darüber, was Menschen mit Russlandhintergrund heute verbindet und spaltet – und zeigen, was sie über Deutschland verrät.

Caught between Russian influence and disinformation campaigns on the one hand and the chance of EU accession on the other, Moldovans will elect a new parliament on 28 September. After pro-European president Maia Sandu narrowly defeated her opponent in last year’s presidential elections, Moldova now faces yet another crucial election. In this episode of the ZOiS podcast, we will look at Moldova’s current political landscape and its most prominent actors ahead of the election – as well as the internal and external factors that may have a negative influence on the election process. Our guests are Anastasia Pociumban and Nadja Douglas. Before the electorate decides on the make-up of the next parliament, we will discuss why Russia targets Moldova’s elections, what coalitions are likely, what is at stake and what the future may hold for Moldova and the EU going forward.

This month we run an episode from 2024 you might have missed: two researchers who have many years of experience working in Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus share their views on research ethics. This is particularly important when dealing with vulnerable groups, operating in authoritarian regimes, or facing conflicts and wars.

Seit Beginn des russischen Angriffskriegs 2022 erhalten Geflüchtete aus der Ukraine temporären Schutz in der EU – aktuell bis März 2027. Doch was passiert danach? Wir sprechen mit Oleksandra Bienert und Irina Mützelburg über rechtliche Entwicklungen, Integrationsfragen und die Zukunft ukrainischer Geflüchteter in Deutschland.

We live in an age where data seems to be everywhere. As citizens and consumers we leave data traces, as scientists we have more and more data to analyse. At the same time, access to data is becoming more restricted. While authoritarian countries rely on data for surveillance, they are also making it harder for outsiders to access data in and about their countries. Not to mention that data, especially false data can be used as a tool for propaganda. But there is hope: research data infrastructure can help to connect, interpret and contextualise data and even make available local information that contradicts the narratives of authoritarian state propaganda. Kerstin Bischl speaks with Felix Herrmann from Discuss Data and Ivaylo Dinev from the KonKoop Datalab about objectives, chances and challenges that come with researching Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

With the full-scale invasion, relations with the EU have suddenly become very concrete for Ukrainian citizens. Many have been displaced, living in various EU countries under temporary protection status – some want to stay there. And while EU countries were seen as important in providing military aid, key member states such as Germany were heavily criticised for their perceived slow delivery. This episode is about Ukrainians - in Ukraine and abroad - their experiences of war and European integration, and what these might mean for the future of Ukrainian and European politics. Marina Rabinovych talks to Valeria Lazarenko, who has studied governance regimes for Ukrainian refugees in Germany, Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic, and Kostiantyn Fedorenko, who has researched the risks of Euroscepticism in Ukraine - an issue of growing relevance as the war enters its fourth year and the stakes rise for potential negotiations and Europe's role in them. President Zelenskiy signed Ukraine's official application for EU membership on 28 February 2022, four days after Russia's full-scale invasion began. Although the application was approved and Ukraine gained EU candidate status with unprecedented speed, the road remains challenging and does not promise to get any easier as the war continues and around 20% of Ukraine's territory is occupied by Russia.

In Georgien protestieren Menschen seit Monaten ununterbrochen gegen den Rückbau demokratischer Institutionen und Rechtsstaatlichkeit. Die Regierung geht mit Gewalt und Repressionen gegen Opposition und Zivilgesellschaft vor. Was steckt hinter der antiwestlichen Rhetorik der Regierungspartei Georgischer Traum und ihrer Annäherungspolitik an Russland? Welchen Rückhalt findet diese Politik in einer Gesellschaft, die seit Jahren mehrheitlich für einen EU-Beitritt ist; und seit dem Krieg mit Russland 2008 alles andere als russlandfreundlich ist? In dieser Folge diskutiert ZOiS-Direktorin Gwendolyn Sasse mit der georgischen Soziologin Diana Bogishvili und der Politikwissenschaftlerin Julia Langbein über Georgiens innen- und außenpolitische Herausforderungen – und die Frage, ob das Land seinen demokratischen Weg noch verteidigen kann. (Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

Three years ago, Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then over 10 million Ukrainians have had to leave their homes. Over 6 million of them moved on to other European countries and continue their lives there. How to take stock of this huge change in people’s lives? How to gain an understanding of their perspectives, sense of identity, hopes and fears? Over the past year, we have explored different ways of narrating the experiences of forced migrants from Ukraine. In a social science project conducted at ZOiS, researchers investigate and visualise the experiences of displacement and arrival, as well as questions of identity and belonging in relation to forced migrants from and in Ukraine. In a Berlin theatre, a playback theatre performance based on the theme of ‘Seeing the difference’, actors brought to life the stories of their audience members, many of them Ukrainians living in the city. In this podcast episode, Stefanie Orphal speaks with playback performer Yuliia Terentieva and ZOiS researcher Sabine von Löwis about the intersection of research and theatre and explores unexpected ways of bringing them together. (Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

In Belarus will Machthaber Lukaschenka sich am 26. Januar 2025 als Präsident wiederwählen lassen. Von einer Wahl im demokratischen Sinn kann aber nicht die Rede sein. Die im Exil lebende Oppositionsführerin Swjatlana Zichanouskaja etwa spricht von einer „militärischen Sonderoperation“, so massiv ist die Atmosphäre der Angst, mit der die Staatsmacht jeglichen Protest im Land erstickt. Die Menschrechtslage in Belarus hat sich seit der letzten, von Wahlfälschungen geprägten Wiederwahl Lukaschenkas 2020 noch weiter verschlechtert, es gibt annähernd 1300 politische Gefangene. Welche Taktik verfolgt Lukaschenka mit den von Juli auf Januar vorgezogenen Wahlen? Welche Signale sendet er damit an den Westen und an Russland? Und wie kann die EU wiederum reagieren? Ingo Petz, Belarus-Redakteur beim Medienprojekt dekoder, und ZOiS-Slavistin Nina Frieß sprechen mit Nadja Douglas über die Hintergründe und diskutieren, welche Hoffnung es für freie Exilmedien, die Demokratiebewegung und die Zivilgesellschaft gibt. (Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

The vast majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox. As recently as 2020, 14% percent considered themselves part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which has a distinct Ukrainian identity but historical ties to the Russian Orthodox Church. Given the notorious role of Patriarch Cyril in justifying the war, the UOC cut ties with Moscow and declared independence after the start of the full-scale invasion. Two years on, criticism of the church has not died down, and the Ukrainian parliament is considering taking political measures against it. Why do many in Ukraine still see the UOC as a threat, and what do believers and active parishioners think of their church and its clergy? Regina Elsner and Andriy Fert give us an overview of the OUC and its place in Ukrainian society. (Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

In this special episode of our podcast, Tymofii Brik joins Julia Langbein at ZOiS to share his thoughts on the future of Ukrainian science. As well as proposing specific strategies, he points to some very practical aspects that need to be prioritised in the recovery plan. And looking ahead, he shares his vision for Ukraine as the location of a new global university for research on the region. (Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

Am 2. April ist Internationaler Kinderbuchtag. Doch die Kinderliteratur hat nicht überall Grund zum Feiern. Auch sie hat mit Verboten, Zensur oder Anfeindungen zu kämpfen. Im Podcast nehmen wir mit Russland und Polen zwei sehr unterschiedliche Beispiele in den Blick. (Musik: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

Animal testing or the use of artificial intelligence – most people know about and have an opinion on the ethics of these two academic practices from medicine and computer science. But what happens when human societies and culture become the object of research? Human interview partners, experts or eyewitnesses, writers or activists are essential to data collection in the social sciences and humanities. In every phase of a research project, researchers need to think about how they can reconcile their need to generate and publish knowledge with their participants’ (and their own) need for safety. This is especially important when researchers are dealing with vulnerable groups, operating in authoritarian regimes or facing conflicts and war. In this episode, two researchers with years of experience in Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus share their views on research ethics in the social sciences. (Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

Ukraine is faced with a substantial and complex challenge: advancing both reconstruction efforts and the EU accession process, all while defending the country against Russian forces. In this episode, we explore how the processes of rebuilding Ukraine and EU accession are connected. Many aspects of the two processes converge, but what if the two endeavours harbour conflicting objectives, particularly regarding short-term and long-term priorities? And what can we learn from other cases in Europe's recent history, for example in the Western Balkans? Political economist Julia Langbein delves into these questions with two experts well-versed in this subject matter: Clare Lockhart from the Institute for State Effectiveness and Inna Pidluska from the International Renaissance Foundation. Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.

Zum Erscheinen der deutschen Übersetzung seines Buches „Europas Hunde“ sprach Nina Frieß mit dem belarusischen Autor Alhierd Bacharevič und der Slavistin Nina Weller über die Lage der belarusischen Literatur im Exil und in Belarus. Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.

Die Orientierung der Ukraine zur EU spielt nicht erst seit der russischen Vollinvasion politisch eine wichtige Rolle und ein Beitritt wird Umfragen zufolge heute von einer überwältigenden Mehrheit der ukrainischen Bevölkerung befürwortet. Skeptische Stimmen im Westen äußern dagegen Zweifel, ob die notwendigen Reformen für ein Land mitten im Krieg zu stemmen sind. Der bevorstehende EU-Gipfel am 14. und 15. Dezember ist ein wichtiger Meilenstein. Dann nämlich sollen die europäischen Staats- und Regierungschefs über die offizielle Aufnahme von Beitrittsverhandlungen entscheiden, nachdem die Ukraine 2022 zeitgleich mit der Republik Moldau den Status einer Beitrittskandidatin erhalten hat. Blockaden, wie sie etwa vom ungarischen Regierungschef Orbán angedroht werden, sind möglich. Im Podcast sprechen die Politikwissenschaftlerinnen Julia Langbein und Gwendolyn Sasse über externe und interne Hürden vor dieser nächsten Etappe auf dem Weg der Ukraine in die EU, den Reformprozess und die Herausforderungen von Beitrittsverhandlungen und Wiederaufbau.

Ahead of the Polish parliamentary elections on 15 October 2023, political campaigns are running at full steam. From coupling the election with a referendum, to employing an increasingly sharp rhetoric against Poland’s neighbours Germany, and, as of recently, Ukraine, the ruling Law and Justice party is eager to mobilize voters and maintain power. One group could play a decisive role in changing the future power dynamics: ZOiS researchers Félix Krawatzek and Hakob Matevosyan have surveyed Polish 18 to 34 year olds on current social issues. From how political identifications and attitudes towards current issues like migration and the war in Ukraine translate into voting intentions, to how family relations and intergenerational dynamics influence perceptions of political representation: The discussions of the finding reveals Poland’s youth is highly motivated to vote and noticeably turning away from bigger parties and towards the right-wing Confederation party, especially among men.

With Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, researchers and institutions became more aware of the fact that research on traumatising incidents also affects the researcher: Reading about war and violence, or interviewing victims and witnesses may impair the researchers’ own mental health. Especially, since researchers may have experienced war or other traumatizing situations in their own past, or may work in precarious situations. In this podcast, we ask what effects research on traumatising contexts may have on researchers, and what individuals, but also academia as an institution can do in order to mitigate the effect. Christa Cocciole, a systems therapist whose work is trauma informed with a focus on the body, and Hanna Vakhitova, assistant professor and senior economist at Kyiv School of Economics talk to Kerstin Bischl (KonKoop/ZOiS) about mental health in academia, and personal as well as institutional ways to take care. (Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

Seit Beginn des russischen Großangriffs auf die Ukraine begegnete man immer wieder der Aussage, in der Vergangenheit sei zu wenig auf die Expert*innen gehört worden. Gleichzeitig war aber auch von einem Versagen der deutschsprachigen Osteuropaforschung die Rede. Auch im Fach selbst fand eine intensive Selbstbefragung statt. Themen, Forschungsperspektiven, politische Wirksamkeit und imperiales Erbe kamen auf den Prüfstand. Seitdem wird heftig diskutiert, wie es weitergehen kann. Um nach vorne zu schauen, müssen wir jedoch auch einen Blick auf die Geschichte der Osteuropaforschung werfen. Wo hat sie ihre Wurzeln, wie reagierte sie auf große politische Umbrüche und was verbirgt sich hinter der Forderung einer Dekolonisierung des Fachs? Darüber spricht Stefanie Orphal mit der Historikerin Elisa Satjukow von der Universität Leipzig und der Politikwissenschaftlerin und ZOiS-Direktorin Gwendolyn Sasse.

In the ten years since its conception, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has morphed into a trillion dollar global infrastructure enterprise. The attention it has been receiving is frequently mixed with suspicion about China’s presence on the global stage. However, any BRI project involves multiple actors beyond China and interacts with pre-existing infrastructure and conditions. How do national governments and elites as well as the EU perceive and utilize BRI infrastructure projects, do they actually serve their intended purpose and what are the outcomes for locals? Beril Ocaklı’s guests share their insights on three specific and telling cases: Nadia Ali on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, Valentin Krüsmann on the construction of the E60 highway in Georgia and Tamás Peragovics on the Hungarian government’s handling of the Budapest-Belgrade railway construction. (Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)