Contesting Russia: Lessons from Central & Eastern Europe — U.S. Helsinki Commission Briefing

This Helsinki Commission Briefing examines Russia’s enduring legacy of aggression in Central & Eastern Europe, including its hybrid warfare tactics, and how the Visegrad 4 (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic) and the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) have responded to counter Russian aggression and support Ukraine.

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction - Jordan Warlick of the U.S. Helsinki Commission
03:01 - The Need for Deterrence — Dr. Dalibor Rohac of the American Enterprise Institute
10:14 - Warnings from the Baltic States — Dr. Indra Ekmanis of the Foreign Policy Research Institute
17:45 - Russia's Imperial Ambitions — Dr. Andrew A. Michta of the Atlantic Council
24:18 - Russia's Hybrid Warfare on NATO Countries
36:21 - Strategies for Deterrence and Defense
51:58 - How to Educate Washington and Western European Capitals about Russia
1:01:00 - How to Prepare for Putin's Next Move
1:11:26 - Shifting Europe's Political Leadership Eastward
1:20:43 - Why won't the West get serious about the Russian threat?

For years, the countries of Central & Eastern Europe have been a critical warning system for the rest of Europe, sounding the alarm about the dangers posed by Russian aggression. Their unique histories and proximity to Russia have given them a deep understanding of Russian tactics, both in conventional warfare and in the hybrid strategies that Russia employs to destabilize its neighbors. As constant targets of Moscow’s imperial foreign policy, these states have led in developing robust defenses against the litany of hybrid campaigns executed against them. As Europe grapples with the ongoing challenges posed by Russia, the insights and expertise of these states are invaluable.

The countries of the Visegrad 4 (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) and the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) play an essential role in shaping a secure and resilient Europe. Building on the release of the Helsinki Commission staff report, Contesting Russia: Preparing for the Long-Term Russian Threat, this briefing examines Russia’s enduring legacy of aggression in the region, including its hybrid warfare tactics, and how these countries have responded to counter Russian aggression and support Ukraine. The briefing also explores how the United States can deepen its support for frontline states, strengthen regional security, and counter Russian influence for the long term.

This briefing features the following panelists:

•Dr. Andrew A. Michta, Director and Senior Fellow, Scowcroft GeoStrategy Initiative, Atlantic Council — Andrew A. Michta is Director and Senior Fellow, Scowcroft Strategy Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the former dean of the College of International and Security Studies at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. He holds a PhD in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University. His areas of expertise are international security, NATO, and European politics and security, with a special focus on Central Europe and the Baltic states.

•Dr. Dalibor Rohac, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute — Dalibor Rohac is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies European political and economic trends, specifically Central and Eastern Europe, the European Union (EU) and the eurozone, US-EU relations, and the post-Communist transitions and backsliding of countries in the former Soviet bloc. He is concurrently a research associate at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies in Brussels and a fellow at Anglo-American University in Prague. Before joining AEI, Dr. Rohac was affiliated with the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, the Max Beloff Centre at the University of Buckingham, the London-based Legatum Institute, and the Center for the New Europe in Brussels.

•Dr. Indra Ekmanis, Baltic Sea Fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute — Dr. Indra Ekmanis (PhD, University of Washington) is host of the Baltic Ways podcast. She is a Baltic Sea Fellow and Editor of the Baltic Bulletin at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and the Newsletter Editor for the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies. Dr. Ekmanis earned her PhD in International Studies from the University of Washington in 2017. Her research focuses on social integration, minority rights, nationalism, civil society and democratic transition in Latvia and the broader Baltic region. She was previously a Kennan Institute Title VIII Research Scholar at The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a Fulbright research award recipient. She also covered international news and analysis as an editor for public radio’s The World through the ACLS/Mellon Public Fellows Program.