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DEARREADER,
Wearedeliveringthisissuetoyouwithahugesighofrelief.Wearehappytoin-
formthatdespitethespreadofCOVID-19andclosedborders,whichautomatically
meantatemporaryfreezeofourinternationaldistribution,NewEasternEuropehas
survivedandplanstocontinue,pandemicornot.Theexperienceofthelastthree
monthsduringwhichagainstalloddsweputthisissuetogetheraswellasdistrib-
utedthepreviousone,hastaughtusvaluablelessonsofsolidarity,compassionas
wellasanevengreaterappreciationtoourauthorsandreaders.Hereby,wecom-
mittocherishandimplementthesevaluesinthemonthsandyearstocome.
WiththeseemotionswealsosharewithyouthelatestissueofNewEastern
EuropewhichisdedicatedtoexaminingtheinnerworkingsoftheKremlin’shybrid
waragainstitsneighboursinthepost-Sovietspace.ThecaseofGeorgiaoffersnot
onlyinsightintohowhybridwarcanbewaged,butalsovaluablelessonsonhow
tomountastrongerdefence.Associetiesanddemocraciesaroundtheworldare
facedwithgreaterthreatsfromhomeandabroad,thereisaneedforbuildinga
strongersocialresilience.Ourauthors,whohavefrst-handexperienceandanevery
dayencounterwithhybridtactics,highlightthemanydimensions,whichhaveonly
beenamplifedbythepandemic.
Onthatnote,thisissuealsobringstogetherexpertvoicestogivesomeanalysis
andinsightonhowCOVID-19mightshiftgeopoliticsinourregion.Weareparticu-
larlyinterestedinunderstandingtheimpactonrelationswiththeEasternPartner-
shipandRussia–countrieswhichhavebeenhithardnotonlybythevirusbutthe
economicconsequencesaswell.
Suchcircumstancesoftenrevealtheroleofother,non-politicalandnon-econom
-
icfactors,intheshapingofourcollectivebehavioursandvalues.Amongthemis
culture,whichisdiscussedinthecontextofCOVID-19byaPolishpoetandliterary
critic,JakubKornhauser,whoinaconversationwithGrzegorzNurekstates“Look-
ingatthehistoryofartanditsdevelopment,weseethatalllargemomentsoftur-
moilbecameadrivingforcefornewartisticmovements,trendsandideas.”Shar-
ingthisbelief,weremainalerttoallculturalandintellectualfermentsthataretaking
placeintheregiontodaywithanaimtosharethesestorieswithyouinournextis-
suesthisyearandbeyond.
TheEditors
