ADVERTISEMENT NEW EASTERN EUROPE IS A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT BETWEEN THREE POLISH PARTNERS The City of Gdańsk www.gdansk.pl A city with over a thousand years of history, Gdańsk has been a melting pot of cultures and ethnic groups. The air of tolerance and wealth built on trade has enabled culture, science, and the Arts to flourish in the city for centuries. Today, Gdańsk remains a key meeting place and major tourist attraction in Poland. While the city boasts historic sites of enchanting beauty, it also has a major historic and social importance. In addition to its 1000-year history, the city is the place where the Second World War broke out as well as the birthplace of Solidarność, the Solidarity movement, which led to the fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe. The European Solidarity Centre www.ecs.gda.pl The European Solidarity Centre is a multifunctional institution combining scientific, cultural and educational activities with a modern museum and archive, which documents freedom movements in the modern history of Poland and Europe. The Centre was established in Gdańsk on November 8th 2007. Its new building was opened in 2014 on the anniversary of the August Accords signed in Gdańsk between the worker’s union “Solidarność” and communist authorities in 1980. The Centre is meant to be an agora, a space for people and ideas that build and develop a civic society, a meeting place for people who hold the world’s future dear. The mission of the Centre is to commemorate, maintain and popularise the heritage and message of the Solidarity movement and the anti-communist democratic op- position in Poland and throughout the world. Through its activities the Centre wants to inspire new cultural, civic, trade union, local government, national and European initiatives with a uni- versal dimension. The Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe www.kew.org.pl The College of Eastern Europe is a non-profit, non-governmental founda- tion founded on February 9th 2001 by Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, a former head of the Polish section of Radio Free Europe and a democratic activist. The foundation deals with cooperation between the nations of Central and Eastern Europe. The aims if its charters are to carry out educational, cultural and publish- ing activities, and to develop programmes which enhance the transformation in the countries of Eastern Europe. The organisation has its headquarters in Wrocław, Poland, a city in western Poland, perfectly situated in the centre of Europe and with a deep understanding of both West- ern and Eastern Europe. Dear Reader, In May 2015 the heads of European states will gather in the capital of Latvia to once again discuss the future of Europe’s (and Russia’s) near neighbourhood, namely the region which we refer to as the “New Eastern Europe”. In the context of the tensions that have been taking place, the stakes could not be higher. It is very clear that there are still significant obstacles towards achieving peace, security and prosperity in the region whose societies themselves remain torn on the future of their states. These divisions are manifested in different spheres of life, public and private. Concentrating mainly on religion in Ukraine, this issue highlights the new dynam- ics in church-society relations. Our authors point to the moral legitimacy of the Kyiv Patriarchate of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church in the post-EuroMaidan reality. Analys- ing the issue of spirituality in other countries of the post-Soviet space, such topics are discussed as: Orthodox and non-Orthodox identity in Russia, attitudes towards Christians in Azerbaijan and an increasing presence of ISIS in Central Asia. Specifically on Russia and the recent assassination of Boris Nemtsov, we present two perspectives of the oppositionist’s final fate. They include: a reflection by Brit- ish journalist Luke Harding, who himself experienced repressions from the Russian authorities, and an interview with Sergei Sokolov, an editor with Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian newspaper considered one of the few critical voices of Rus- sian politics. As we wrote in our March-April issue, the editorial team of this magazine remains committed to providing you with deep analyses and different perspectives of the developments in our region. We speak through the many voices of our authors whose works we often diligently translate into English. We do this driven by a belief that the region of Eastern Europe matters to a global audience. We also remain reassured, especially by you – our readers – that this work is valued. However, with a significant reduction in the budget that we have been ex- periencing this year, it is becoming quite clear that without additional support we may not be able to continue our work in the format that you have come to know. Please consider a donation to support our cause by visiting: www.neweasterneu- rope.eu/donate. The Editors Contents Opinion & Analysis 7 Leviathan Killed Boris Nemtsov Only some priests supported the protests and Luke Harding the activities of the Moscow Patriarchate in At 11:30 PM on Friday February 27th 2015, Ukraine are openly criticised by the society today. Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken Russian opposition leader, was shot in the back. 51 Encouraging Theological Reflection The assassin fired off six shots; four of the Interview with Bishop Brian Farrell bullets struck him, one in the heart; and he died instantly. The only explanation not 55 Ukraine’s Spiritual Awaking being given in Moscow for Nemtsov’s is the Maryana Hnyp blindingly obvious one: that Nemtsov was murdered for his opposition activities and, specifically, for his very public criticism of 63 How Mikveh became Vodokhreshcha Vladimir Putin’s secret war in Ukraine. Anna Chebotariova 15 There is no Room for Optimism 73 Central Asia’s Emerging Threat? An interview with Sergei Sokolov Eimear O’Casey The rise in recruitment to the Islamic State 21 If Europe is from Venus, of Iraq and Syria across Central Asia is a real problem. However, equally problematic is the then Russia is from Mars way in which the threat of terrorism is exploited Dominik P. Jankowski by authoritarian regimes, causing a dilemma in how to effectively support these countries in 30 The Fifth Kharkiv stemming the spread of Islamist radicalisation. Tatiana Zhurzhenko Since 2014 Kharkiv has gone back to the old 80 Waiting for a Better Future notion of being a city on the geopolitical frontier. Roman Husarski Kharkiv finds itself just 40 kilometres from the Russian border and just 200 kilometres from the 87 The Thaw in Russia’s Periphery unstable border with the separatist controlled Jędrzej Morawiecki territory of Donbas, where the truce is still very fragile. Having survived the “Russian spring” it demonstrates a new pro-Ukrainian consensus 97 DOUBLETAKE: which emerged in response to the serious threat Is Ukraine a Failed State? of internal destabilisation and Russian invasion. Grzegorz Gil The crisis and strife in Ukraine has once again 38 The Ties that Bind brought failed state semantics and experts to the Anatoliy Babinskyi centre of the debate. However, considering the The social transformations that have been numerous facts and indicators that determine taking place in Ukraine since late 2013 have whether a state can be qualified as “failed”, it greatly affected inter-church relations. The becomes clear that Ukraine is rather a state that Orthodox Church under the Kyiv Patriarchate, has been faced with an endemic political crisis which actively supported the EuroMaidan, and whose well-known economic problems only emerged from the revolution with a strong moral increase the difficulty of succeeding in any area. ascendancy and enhanced its own reputation in the society. For the Moscow Patriarchate, these 109 Why is Central Europe so Divided? events turned out to be somewhat of a disaster. Magdaléna Vášáryová 117 Greetings from Novorossiya that originally prosecuted and punished Paweł Pieniążek the perpetrators would constitute the first steps on the path towards an official Turkish 124 What Does Aliyev Fear? acknowledgement of the crimes that were Dominika Bychawska-Siniarska committed against the Armenian nation. While the world’s eyes are turned towards Ukraine, Azerbaijan’s civil society has been People, Ideas, Inspiration progressively dismantled. Leading human rights defenders have been jailed, funds of independent non-governmental organisations have been 167 A Crisis in Europe’s Identity frozen and most civil society activists have A conversation with Larry Wolff been forced to shut down or go underground. Books & Reviews 131 Who is Aligning with Who? David Erkomaishvili 174 Many Visions for One Country Mateusz Mazzini Interviews On Richard Sakwa’s Frontline Ukraine. Crisis in the Borderlands 137 A Weak Response Produces Bigger Risks 176 (Almost) All You Need to Interview with Leszek Balcerowicz Know About Crimea “A country with a weak economy is weak Bartosz Marcinkowski in general. In the end, you cannot have a On Paul Robert Magocsi’s This Blessed strong army without sufficient economic Land: Crimea and the Crimean Tatars resources. In Ukraine’s case, reforms are thus not just a matter of improving living 178 Dissecting Georgia’s standards, they are also a condition for more Democratic Experiences effective actions in the military dimension.” Bartłomiej Krzysztan On The Making of Modern Georgia, 144 Georgia is not a Eurasian Country 1918 – 2012: The First Georgian Republic and An interview with Konstantine Gamsakhurdia its Successors. Edited by: Stephen F. Jones Reports 181 Lessons in the Confrontation of Right versus Wrong Alex Jeffers 151 Transnistria’s Lost Generation Iuliia Mendel On Christina Isajiw’s Negotiating Human Rights: In Defence of Dissidents during the Soviet Era: A Memoir History & Memory 183 Perestroika: An unfinished Project 159 A Forgotten Genocide Tomasz Kułakowski Tomasz Lachowski On Mikhail Gorbachev’s (After the Kremlin) The mass killings of Armenians committed by the Turks between 1915 and 1923 are one of 185 Jerzy Stempowski’s Ukraine the few massacres of the 20th century that Dorota Sieroń-Galusek has not yet been adequately addressed with On Jerzy Stempowski’s W dolinie a legal response.