Author: Alex Varga

The freeze in U.S. foreign assistance — including key support for independent journalism via USAID — has dealt Eastern Europe not only a financial but also a political shock. Within weeks, newsrooms that for years investigated corruption, government procurement, and abuse of power found themselves on the brink of project...

An analysis of human history leads to a sobering conclusion: the story of our civilization is not one of peaceful creation, but of military conflict. But, strange as it may seem, it is war that has often driven technological development. A prime example is World War II, which spurred a...

The current meeting in Anchorage is more than a symbolic “halfway point” between the United States and Russia. For the Kremlin, it’s an attempt to breach the sanctions wall via localized economic engagement with Alaska — from the fishing industry and technical flight arrangements to critical minerals and oil-and-gas ventures....

After 24 February 2022, Russia sharply increased the production of artillery ammunition. A critical link in this chain is cotton cellulose — the raw material for nitrocellulose, which is used to produce smokeless powders. The lion’s share of this raw material is supplied by Uzbekistan, and its deliveries have only...

Due to the effectiveness of the sanctions regime imposed by Western countries on the Russian Federation for its aggressive and destructive foreign policy, the Russian economy loses billions of dollars in revenue every month. Despite this, Russia continues to receive tens of billions of dollars in profits every month from...

With each passing year of Viktor Orbán’s premiership, Hungary is drifting further from the core values of the European Union and edging closer to a role no longer of partnership, but of internal opposition. What was once a cooperative EU member state is now a self-declared dissident, cloaking its actions...

In our world, where people struggle daily for a better place under the sun—earning a living and climbing the social ladder—leisure time has become a luxury. And if one manages to save up for pleasure, they prefer to enjoy it quietly, far from the hustle and bustle. There’s a vast...

Corruption in Defense Equipment Procurement in the Czech Republic and Slovenia We dare to claim that nothing stimulates the development of the military-industrial complex and the arms trade (both sales and purchases) quite like the threat of an impending war. A vivid example of this can be observed today, as...

In today’s geopolitical chessboard, the Kremlin is investing less in tanks—and more in televisions, churches, and contraband. Moldova, a fragile democracy teetering between reform and destabilization, has become a testing ground for a new model of Russian influence. In this model, formal state institutions are gradually eroded, while an alternative...

When we think of the mafia, we often picture violent gangs engaged in drug smuggling, arms trafficking, illicit alcohol and tobacco trades, contract killings, prostitution rings, robberies, illegal gambling, car theft, and extortion. Yet this is only a fraction of the "specializations" pursued by mafia groups around the globe—each with...