The Kremlin Playbook: Understanding Russian Influence in Central and Eastern Europe

The CSIS Europe Program, in partnership with Sofia-based Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), recently concluded a sixteen-month study on Russian economic and political influence in Central and Eastern Europe. The study’s leading authors will present the key findings from the report, which illuminate the linkages between Russia’s growing economic and investment presence in Central and Eastern Europe and the region’s general decline in political stability, diminishment of democratic institutions, and erosion of governance standards in five case study countries. Described as an “unvirtuous circle“ of Russian Influence, the report traces the work of Russian cultivated networks of patronage across the region that it actively uses to influence and direct decision-making that is in line with the Kremlin’s interests.