ZOiS - Zentrum für Osteuropa- und internationale Studien

19/10/2026

New ZOiS Report on trade between Moldova and the breakaway region of Transnistria out now!
🔗 https://www.zois-berlin.de/en/publications/zois-report/economic-ties-across-the-river-nistru-trade-and-prospects-for-conflict-transformation-in-moldova-and-transnistria

Based on a survey among 1,161 businesses, researchers Julia Langbein, Sabine von Löwis, Ivaylo Dinev and Maxim Slav investigated links between political views and the market orientation of businesses on both sides of the de facto border and asked whether trade between the regions might contribute to conflict resolution.

A quick overview:

On both sides, economic trade is focussed on domestic markets. Trade across the Nistru River plays a subordinate role and is more important for businesses in Transnistria. European markets are playing a growing role.

Traders tend to be very pragmatic when it comes to geopolitical implications:
Transnistrian businesses that trade with Moldovan businesses on the right bank of the Nistru tend to favour greater integration with the EU. Moldovan businesses on the right bank engaged in cross-Nistru trade are more likely to support economic engagement with both the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union.

In conflict resolution, trade links are often used as one of many so-called confidence-building measures. In the case of Transnistria, trade relations with Moldova do not automatically go hand in hand with greater support for political integration, the authors find. However, they do result in mutual trust, which could be leveraged to achieve more stability.

16/10/2026

The German discourse on Russia's war against Ukraine has revealed that, for many, perceptions of Russia are not based on the real country. Instead, they project domestic sensibilities onto an idea of "Russia", political scientist and ZOiS Director Gwendolyn Sasse has found. An interview on her new book is out in English 👇

‘Images of Russia are a convenient way of channelling disappointment and anger’

15/10/2026

Warum haben in Deutschland nach wie vor viele positive Bezüge zu Russland, trotz des jahrelangen Krieges gegen die Ukraine? Und haben die Ostdeutschen tatsächlich einen besseren Draht zu Russland, wie manche in der politischen Arena behaupten? Und was sagt das eigentlich über die Deutschen selbst aus?

In Umfragen, Interviews und Diskussionsrunden hat die Politikwissenschaftlerin und ZOiS-Direktorin Gwendolyn Sasse über Jahre hinweg das Russlandbild der Deutschen erforscht. Daraus ist das Buch „Russland – eine deutsche Erfindung“ (bei C.H.Beck) entstanden, das sie diese Woche an der Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften vorgestellt hat.

Mit im Gespräch: Nils Schmid, MdB und Parlamentarischer Staatssekretär beim Bundesminister der Verteidigung, Schriftstellerin Anne Rabe und Moderatorin Stefanie Orphal, Leiterin der Wissenschaftskommunikation am ZOiS.

Eine Punkt aus der Diskussion: Ost- und Westdeutsche sind sich in einer beschwichtigenden Haltung gegenüber Russland manchmal ähnlicher, als der öffentliche Diskurs es vermuten lässt. Andere Zugehörigkeiten, etwa Generation bilden oft die Trennlinie zwischen verschiedenen Russlandbildern.

Eine Veranstaltung in Kooperation mit der Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften und dem Exzellenzcluster SCRIPTS.

Neugierig geworden? Über ihre Motivation für das Schreiben und das Buch haben wir mit Gwendolyn im ZOiS Meet the Author gesprochen. Jetzt lesen: https://www.zois-berlin.de/publikationen/meet-the-author/russlandbilder-sind-ein-opportunes-mittel-um-enttaeuschung-und-aerger-zu-buendeln

12/10/2026

In ihrem neuen Buch untersucht Gwendolyn Sasse anhand von Umfragedaten, Interviews und O-Tönen das Russlandbild der Deutschen – und findet dort weniger Wissen als viel mehr eigene Ängste und Befindlichkeiten widergespiegelt. Für ZOiS Meet the Author haben wir mit ihr über ihre Motivation für das Schreiben, Erklärungsansätze in Ost und West, und die deutsche Russlandpolitik gesprochen.

„Russlandbilder sind ein opportunes Mittel, um Enttäuschung und Ärger zu bündeln“

09/10/2026

: Two (and a half days) days filled with academic exchange around the theme (Un)certainties are behind us. For the second time, ZOiS was able to co-organise the DGO Congress of Central and East European Studies together with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Osteuropakunde e.V. and the Institute for East European Studies at Freie Universität Berlin.

At an interactive playback theatre perfomance on Wednesday evening, the Ukraine Research Network@ZOiS shone the spotlight on uncertainty not just as a subject, but as a lived reality of researchers, particularly those from Eastern Europe. Be it the constant competition for funding or the time-consuming and outright dangerous journey from Kyiv to Berlin, the performers were able to portray the human stories behind academic routines.

On Thursday, we kicked the congress off at Freie Universität. Uncertainty is where desinformation thrives, and the task of researchers is to help dispel it, was one of the points ZOiS Director Gwendolyn Sasse made during the opening.

Day on of ceecon was packed with panels and roundtables. Just a few glimpses into the ongoing research at ZOiS:
Social anthropologist and migration researcher Tsypylma Darieva introduced qualitative political opportunities and the logic of Russian-Georgian (dis)encounters in Tbilisi.

At the panel Security and memory in the Baltics, Félix Krawatzek investigates how differences in security assessments is explained by different assessments of history between Estonia's Russian minority and majority population, drawing on the Moving Russia - ns: Intergenerational Transmission of Memories project.
Hakob Matevosyan, a colleage at , looked into how perceptions of international politics and security shape attitudes toward refugees in Estonia, with particular attention to generational and ethnic differences between the two groups.

From the Political Economy and Integration research cluster at ZOiS, Sebastian Hoppe introduced a comparative framework for analysing brokerage and the adaptive capacity of authoritarian political economies, specifically Russia, under external pressure.
Meanwhile, the cluster's head Julia Langbein together with Sabine von Löwis discussed trade as a confidence-building mechanism in the context of protracted intra-state conflict and contested statehood, focusing on the Moldova and its Transnistrian region.

And finally, on Friday, Félix Krawatzek and PhD researcher Sophia Winkler presented their findings on transnational senses of belonging among migrant first and second generation Russian migrants in Germany amidst geopolitical ruptures.

Many more ZOiS researchers were among the chairs and discussants at ceecon, and we were also happy to have many alumni with us in Berlin.

And of course, a very big thanks goes to the organising team at DGO and the Institute for East European Studies!
We are grateful for the collaboration and remain committed to a common hub for research on Eastern Europe and beyond.

08/10/2026

Repressionen durch den russischen Staat betreffen immer mehr Kritiker*innen, Journalist*innen, Forschende und ganze Institutionen über Grenzen hinweg.

In einer neuen geteilten Folge unseres Podcasts Roundtable Osteuropa sprechen der Historiker und Sicherheitsexperte Mark Galeotti, ZOiS-Direktorin Gwendolyn Sasse und Journalistin Tamina Kutscher.

Jetzt die ganze Folge in unserer Mediathek hören: https://www.zois-berlin.de/podcast-roundtable-osteuropa/2026/grenzenlose-einschuechterung-wie-russland-kritische-stimmen-im-ausland-verfolgt

Und unseren Podcast abonnieren, z.B. auf
🟢 Spotify bit.ly/zoisspotify
🟣 Apple Podcasts bit.ly/zoisapple

07/10/2026

We are excited for , the third edition of the DGO Congress of Central and East European Studies, starting in Berlin tomorrow. During two days, we will be hear dozens from presentations by scholars from around 30 countries. Whether you're about to present at ceecon or another conference or have always wondered why presenting and discussing research at conferences is so important in academia: We have some tips in store.

As part the Ukraine Research Network@ZOiS UNET, the workshop series Get your research out there brought together researchers with experienced peers to learn and exchange notes of effective communication.

Visual notes for presentations from the session with political scientist and ZOiS director Gwendolyn Sasse and historian Olena Palko are permanently accessible (for downloading and printing) in English and Ukrainian on the UNET site.

🔗 👉 https://www.zois-berlin.de/en/research/externally-funded-projects/unet/get-your-research-out-there-workshop-series/translate-to-englisch-how-to-present-your-research-for-a-better-academic-discussion

Visual notes created by Julia Knyupa, workshop series conceived by UNET coordinator Anastasiya Leukhina.