Category: event


  • denkfabrik talk with Ildar Daminov

    Once hailed as the ultimate “democratizing force,” the internet has undergone a dark transformation. Today, the digital landscape is increasingly dominated by state-sponsored surveillance, sophisticated censorship, and the relentless spread of propaganda. For many living under modern autocracies, the dream of an open web has been replaced by the reality of a “Digital Gulag.”How did we…

  • denkfabrik talk with Mahdi Ghodsi

    Across Iran, a powerful wave of anti-government protests is making headlines. Driven by soaring prices, a collapsing currency, lack of social freedom, and deep political frustration, people are taking to the streets in record numbers. While some see this as the beginning of the end for the current regime, the state has met the movement…

  • denkfabrik talk with Alexander Mitrofanenko

    Armed conflict is inherently destructive. Beyond the immediate human suffering, war leaves behind a toxic legacy: it devastates ecosystems, endangers human health, and threatens long-term recovery. What does international experience tell us on the lasting impact of war on environment and what can Ukraine learn from it to overcome it?

  • denkfabrik talk with Tamara Kusimova

    Traditionally, many saw the rise of a stable middle class as a key to political democratization—and Russia was no exception. Yet just a decade after the onset of civil protests of 2011-2013, many of the well-educated, urban professionals were within the ranks of Putin’s authoritarian state machine. What has become of those on whom so…

  • denkfabrik talk with Adam Pontius

    In 2010, the Republican Party in the US stood for free markets, constitutional governance, and the transatlantic alliance. A decade later, it had changed beyond recognition following Trump’s rise to power. How did the Republican Party transform from a mainstream political force into a personalized movement centered around Donald Trump? To guide us through this…

  • denkfabrik talk with Milana Bagdasarian

    After years of dependence on Russia as its main security guarantor, Armenia is entering a new and uncertain chapter. The peace deal with Azerbaijan has reopened old wounds while forcing the country to rethink its alliances. For many Armenians, the idea of looking West is no longer abstract but a matter of survival and political…

  • denkfabrik talk with Branimir Jovanović

    In recent years, the Western Balkans have found themselves at the center of a strategic contest between the EU, China, Russia, and the US. Much of that contest happens behind the closed doors through grants, loans, and investment funding. What do financial flows reveal about the economic game of influence played by the Great Powers?…

  • Protests and Power in Serbia: How students united the country in a struggle for justice and future

    For four months, Serbia has been gripped by protests. A tragedy in Novi Sad, which might have remained a local issue, has sparked a nationwide movement against entrenched corruption. Yet while the protests are often framed in the West as anti-Vučić or even anti-Russian, this view is far from the truth. What defines the ongoing…

  • Встреча и дискуссия – Помогаем политзаключённым. Как писать и говорить о них, не навредив

    В последние годы тысячи людей в России стали жертвами целенаправленного государственного преследования. Политзаключенным можно стать за антивоенную позицию, религиозные взгляды или из-за личных мотивов силовиков. Как помочь тем, кто уже оказался в заключении, когда кажется, что сил и надежды на перемены больше нет?

  • Лекция и дискуссия: «Как выжить, когда кругом одна пропаганда»

    Когда-то «пропагандой» называли листовки, которые воюющие стороны сбрасывали на противника. Теперь политики и журналисты видят её везде — в медиа, соцсетях, кино, книгах и речах оппонентов. Действительно ли живем в мире тотальной пропаганды? В этом нам помогут разобраться журналисты и ведущие стрима “ШеЗа” Илья Шепелин (Зомбоящик, ранее Дождь, Такие дела, РБК) и Андрей Захаров (автор…