Simon Kiwek

With the invasion of Ukraine, for many in the West, the post-Cold War world order that had been taken for granted collapsed. But for many people in Eastern Europe, this was the case much earlier, when the Iron Curtain fell. Join us as Armenians fell into the "cold and dark years" of the 90s without gas and oil and hunger returned. Discover Ukraine, whose population has been torn apart in the chocolate wars between Europe and Russia since 2000. Travel with us to Central Asia, get to know the oriental flair of the Silk Road through the former Soviet Union.

Finally, we turn our attention to Russia and how the will to dominate Eurasia’s gas markets determined the Kremlin's thinking. In a duel with Turkey, it circled the Europeans from Libya to Syria to the Caucasus and secured access to China's gas market. Using the Russian de facto states of Transnistria and Donetsk, we trace the story of how Russia might fare under Western sanctions. In the end, we travel to the Mongolian Buryats in Russia's Far East, torn between shamanism, endless tundra, and the war in Ukraine thousands of miles away.