For centuries, Russia has held cultural and economic pull for people across Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe. In the 2020s this seems to be changing, ot just due to the war in Ukraine. Geopolitical winds are changing, and even as the US is arguably in decline the Russian language too faces an uncertain situation. Many countries once occupied/governed by Moscow are turning to English or Mandarin education, while the Baltic States do everything they can to distance themselves in an effort to revitalize local languages.

Host James orban gives an overview of the situation in 3 regions once governed directly from Moscow. WIll Russian ever truly go away as a lingua franca? It depends.

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In the Soviet Union, having a metro system in your city was a real status symbol. In most cities this would be good news, a sign their city was on the rise. Latvia's capital Riga was scheduled to have a metro built in the late 1980s as the population swelled to over 900,000. Early plans called for murals and marble ceilings, new rolling stock to rival that of Moscow and St. Petersburg, but this opulence masked the concerns of local residents. Many thought the metro would displace more local Latvians, making them a minority population in their own SSR, many worried about the ecological and environmental impact of such a project.

In today's episode host James Orban examines the history and impact of this project, its rise and fall in the span of less than a decade.

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All cultures have some form of "second world fiction", where a character enters another world. Japan's "isrkai" light novel industry and web fiction are what most people think of, but the post-Soviet sphere and particularly Russian speaking world has its own formof these stories. On this episode I discuss the origins of this genre, how it differs from Japanese light novels, and the unique sub-genre that centers on the experiences of former Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

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In today's episode, host James Orban discusses the origins of the Russian minority in theBaltic States of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania as they exist today. From their origins in the Tsarist times to how the Soviet Union implemented unofficial colonization programs all the way to the present day. Kremlin propaganda efforts have made the Russian minority a wedge issue, 30% of the Latvian population a one point identified themselves as Russian first and foremost, but the Baltic States have implemented various measured to better integrate these people into wider society.

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In this short episode, host James Orban discusses the various issues at play when covering Central and Eastern European economics, culture, and politcs in the podcast format. There are very notable examples, but by and large coverage especially in the English language seems to over the years have come to be dominated by discussions of the Soviet Union. The USSR not for what it was, but for what Cold War era talking points painted it to be. Discussions on the future of the region and how things are today whether in Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Poland, or the Baltic states is less common.

Examples of other content to check out:

The Eastern Border by Kristaps Andrejsons

Talk Eastern Europe Podcast

YouTube Channels

The Ushanka Show ]

NFKRZ

Gattsu

In Moscow's Shadows by Mark Galliatti

Lady Izdhar on YouTube

Yugopnik, on YouTube

Living Ironically in Europe, on YouTube

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Russian propaganda is rarely original. Back in the mid-1970s, Poland's Socialist government approved of various music festivals and song competitions covering a wide variety of genres. The Intervision Song Contest was one attempt to rival the Western Eurovision contest. It did not last long. In 2025, almost 50 years later, Russia revived the competition in the name of "anti-woke", "traditional" values. The winning act was an artist from Vietnam famous in his home country for writing pro-LGBT music. This was not the only dilemma facing this 600 million ruble project.

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From 1989 to 1990, governments around the Socialist bloc were facing financial hardship and various movement organizing for greater labor rights, democratic processes, openning up of the markets, and all manner of other similar policies. Host James Orban examines the response one government from the region took. Hungary under Kadar in 1989 approved for Hungarians to be given global passports, and to be allowed greater access to foreign currency. What did people do? They went shopping in Vienna. Those shopping trips, as apocryphal as they may be on details, were the first real moment of experiencing Western capitalism.

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The European Union has long faced a brain drain from east to west, but in the last decade or so many young people especially in tech have decided to permanently move to the United States seeking a better life. Recently with immigration laws evolving in the US and the current US-China trade tensions, host James Orban looks into how this landscape is changing. Interviewing Marton Barcza, host of Tech Altar of YouTube, the pair discuss current affairs as they relate to Central and Eastern Europe.

Tech Altar on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TechAltar

Visegrad Dispatch Substack: eurodreampod.substack.com

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