Countries can’t choose their neighbors and in the case of the Baltics, the shadow of Russia looms large. This video shows some of the historical context and the shifting political geography of the Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
This week, soldiers from Germany and Belgium are settling into a new posting in Lithuania as part of the latest NATO troop deployment. Will their hosts—and the region—feel more secure as a result of their presence?
Source: www.youtube.com
This video from the Economist shows how shifting political situations in one country can create some powerful ripples elsewhere. It also shows how fluid geopolitical alliances can either embolden a waxing power, or create anxiety among states that might be waning in regional influence. Supranational allegiances can weigh heavily on smaller states.
Tags: Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, supranationalism, political.
It’s been 25 years since the fall of the Soviet Union. How has religious freedom fared in this part of the world?
Source: www.deseretnews.com
The collapse of the former Soviet Union was one of the biggest political events of the 20th century with long-reaching cultural ramifications. The generations of state-sponsored atheism followed by a variety of new political policies has meant that religious freedoms vary greatly in the regions that were once a part of the USSR. This article gives a good breakdown of all the former SSR’s and the state of religious freedom today in each of them.
Tags: religion, Christianity, Islam, Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan.
GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION 