Ukraine faces considerable economic challenges, but democracy is becoming stronger. The upcoming presidential elections could, however, result in more authoritarian politics, which would lessen Western support and increase its vulnerability to Russian coercion. Ukrainian ties with EU and America are vital, warn William Courtney and Denis Corboy

The myth of Russia’s beautiful past has gripped the popular imagination, thanks to state propaganda, the poet Tatiana Shcherbina laments. Stalin is the nation’s hero, heir to the Tsars. Russia is once again ‘encircled by enemies’ and the people’s list of those who ought to be shot grows longer daily.

Russia's President Medvedev has warned that continued dependence on raw materials exports has a negative impact on industrial production and the development of his country. But there can be no modernisation in Russia without tackling corruption and this will be impossible without reforming political institutions, warns Sergei Guriev

Ukraine’s hopes of joining the EU some day may have been improved by changes in the German cabinet, observes Andreas Umland.

Why is Russia resisting international help with its spiralling drugs problem, asks Susan Richards? While the Kremlin's rhetoric reveals a profound insecurity, its policies are failing to deal effectively with the situation

Ukraine has proved exceptionally vulnerable to the economic crisis, says Grigory Gritsenko. Dependent on its exports, it is hampered both by its dependence on its Russian neighbour for gas and the poverty of its internal market.

The epic upheaval of 1989 was a time when east Europeans lost their fear, overcame their moral frustration and political impotence, and regained a central role in the political sphere. The heart of this series of profound events survives across twenty years, says Vladimir Tismaneanu.

After the recent Russian local elections were won by the Kremlin-backed ruling party, United Russia, opposition parties cried foul. A review of blogs and online comments from the Russian southern city of Astrakhan shows quite how bad things got.

Gazprom's controversial decision to build a skyscraper in St. Petersburg had the support of Putin and governor Valentina Matvienko. But a recent broadside on TV suggests that broader forces of political opposition may be gathering behind this ostensibly cultural decision, comments Dmitry Travin

Could historical enemies Armenia and Turkey be moving towards reconciliation? Despite the potential pitfalls, Turkey's acknowledgement of the 1915 "genocide" being the most serious, compromise could be achieved, says Sergei Markedonov