Prague-based journalist, essayist and historian, at home both in the Czech Republic and in his native Belarus. His specialization is contemporary history of the Central and Eastern European nations, Russian-European relationship and politics. He is the author of The Austro-Hungarian Empire, the first Russian-language monograph about the Habsburg monarchy. He is the deputy director of Radio Liberty’s Russian Service.
Europe’s uncoordinated reaction to the pandemic and the controversies over the European Recovery Fund have again revealed the political fissures between East and West. COVID-19 will pass, but other external threats will not.
Yaroslav Shimov analyses the situation of the “Middle Europe” countries during the Habsburg monarchy and today, at the onset of their integration into the European Union. How can this future be envisaged and what can be learned from the past? Shimov argues that these countries must retain their unique identities in a united Europe.
