Page 3 - bne magazine September 2020 russia melting

bne September 2020 Contents I 3
COVER FEATURE 26 Russia is melting
CENTRAL EUROPE
EASTERN EUROPE
40 It’s a long way to Tipperary for Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya
42 A statistical study of Belarus presidential voting patterns suggests massive fraud
43 Ukraine’s IMF deal drifting off track
44 Sanctioned Russian billionaires Arkady and Boris Rotenberg reportedly dodging sanctions with multimillion-dollar art deals
45 Russian opposition activist Navalny hospitalised
after drinking suspected poisoned tea
EURASIA
46 Daunting challenges lie in way of those minded to revive Trans-Caspian Pipeline project
48 Lukashenko appears alongside “dead” ex-Kyrgyz PM after protests
49 Iran unveils missile named after armed forces chief assassinated by US
50 US ‘grabs Iranian fuel en route to Venezuela’
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30
44
30 Hungary's illiberal leader says the West has lost its appeal
31 Outrage in Poland over MPs voting across party lines to raise their salaries
32 Pompeo ends CEE tour with defence deal with Poland but main focus was on countering Chinese influence
SOUTHEAST EUROPE
34 Hobbling banks introduce fees on physical FX withdrawals Erdogan camp fumes after Biden “autocrat” comments resurface in video
36 Protest-riven Bulgaria heads for its toughest winter in decades
37 EBRD seriously concerned by indictment against Moldova’s Victoriabank
OPINION
52 China pushes on with Central Asia trade ambitions despite missing Kyrgyz rail link
54 Artem Shraibman asks: What kind of dialogue can save Belarus?
56 Moscow is not Minsk, but it is in its shadow
58 The slow death of Hungary’s independent media
NEW EUROPE IN NUMBERS
61 China became Hungary’s second-largest import partner before pandemic struck
55 52