How did the dissolution of the Soviet Union really unfold? How has the agency of the Baltic states been undervalued in studying this period, and how have those misperceptions persisted in the intervening decades. Dr. Una Bergmane unpacks the complex geopolitical history and draws carefully considered comparisons between the past and present.

More information about The Politics of Uncertainty: The United States, the Baltic Question, and the Collapse of the Soviet Union

Baltic Ways is a podcast brought to you by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com

Do Russia and China really have a "friendship without limits?" How are the Baltic states positioning themselves in the shifting sands of global security? What sort of role could they have as multilateral coalitions seek to address China as both a strategic competitor and critical trade partner? Dr. Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova, head of the China Studies Centre at Riga Stradiņš University, provides expert insight into this rapidly changing set of relationships and how they might develop.

Baltic Ways is brought to you by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI.


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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com

How has Russia's invasion of Ukraine affected Europe's energy mix? How are European states balancing the move towards a green future with their present needs? How are the Baltic states positioning themselves in these European debates? Dr. Agnia Grigas, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, gives us the historical context and future factors that will affect European energy security for decades to come.

Baltic Ways is a podcast brought to you by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com

How has cultural memory shaped Estonia as a nation? What does it mean to gamify medieval Livonia? And should historians rethink their concept of historical time? Dr. Marek Tamm, professor of cultural history and head of the Centre of Excellence in Intercultural Studies at Tallinn University, speaks about redefining the notion of time and what it means for how we understand the writing of history.

Baltic Ways is a podcast brought to you by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI.

Marek Tamm | Tallinn University Memory politics in Estonia: ‘We shouldn’t turn Soviet monuments into a security threat’

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How have things changed politically and socially for Russian speakers in Latvia since the war in Ukraine — and over the last few decades? Dr. Martiņš Kaprāns, senior researcher at University of Latvia's Institute of Philosophy and Sociology and recent recipient of the AABS Saltups Fellowship, shares his perspectives on current events and changes in Russian-speaker identity formation.

Baltic Ways is a podcast brought to you by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI.

1) Kaprāns, M., Mieriņa, I. 2020. “Minority reconsidered: Towards a typology of Latvia’s Russophone identity.” Cheskin, A., A. Kachuyevski (Eds.) The Russian-speaking Populations in the Post-Soviet Space: Language, Politics and Identity. New York: Routledge.2) Kaprāns, M. (29.11.2022.) “Toppling Monuments: How Russia's War against Ukraine has Changed Latvia’s Memory Politics.” Cultures of History Forum.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com

What happens when families and nations fight on both sides of a great power war? Dr. Harry Merritt is a visiting assistant professor in the department of history at Brown University. He shares his research on national and familial feelings among Latvian soldiers in World War II, who were conscripted into the Latvian Legion and Latvian Rifle Corp as the country was occupied by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Soldiers in both units spoke Latvian with one another, celebrated national holidays, sang traditional songs, and often thought of themselves and their comrades-in-arms as serving the Latvian national cause. Dr. Merritt explores the human stories underpinning this history and what it means for greater narratives in his chapter for the recently published Defining Latvia.

Baltic Ways is a podcast brought to you by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com

Dr. Volodymyr Dubovyk is a professor of international relations at Odessa I. Mechnikov National University and an expert in U.S.-Ukraine relations, Black Sea regional security, and Ukrainian foreign policy. He speaks about the view from Ukraine, how his work has shifted during the war, and takeaways for Ukraine from the Baltic states.

This interview was recorded on June 7, 2022.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com

As Russia's war in Ukraine continues, Europe faces an energy trilemma: Combining competitiveness, security and climate targets. Dr. Andrei Belyi joins the podcast as an expert consultant on European and Russian energy policy.

Baltic Ways is a podcast brought to you by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI.

Read more:

Al-Chalabi, F. (2010). Oil policies, oil myths : Analysis and memoir of an OPEC 'insider'. London: I.B. Tauris.

Belyi, A. (2015). Transnational Gas Markets and Euro-Russian Energy Relations (International political economy series). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com

Since the war in Ukraine began, more than 20,000 Ukrainian refugees have made their way to Latvia. Agnese Lāce is an expert in migration and integration policy in Latvia. She shares insights about the grassroots efforts on the ground, the political response, and what the support for Ukrainians might mean for refugees and asylum seekers from other countries arriving in Latvia. 

This interview was recorded on April 11, 2022. 

Resources mentioned: 

www.ukraine-latvia.com  

https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/


Baltic Ways is a podcast brought to you by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com

Join Baltic Ways for a discussion with Dr. Maria Mälksoo, senior researcher at the University of Copenhagen's Centre for Military Studies. Dr. Mälksoo speaks about the ever-pressing question of agency in Ukraine and the Baltic states, deterrence on NATO's eastern flank, and Eastern and Central European scholarship in international security studies.

Baltic Ways is a podcast brought to you by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI.

This episode was recorded on February 16, 2022.

Read more:

Uses of ‘the East’ in international studies: Provincialising IR from Central and Eastern Europe, Journal of International Relations and Development

Captive Minds: The Function and Agency of Eastern Europe in International Security Studies, Journal of International Relations and Development

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com