Tracks East

Tracks East - Speciale

Tracks goes east and meets artists and journalists to get a different perspective on the war in Ukraine.

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Religion has played a major role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill supports the war - Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is sending Muslim soldiers to Ukraine in a "holy war". We meet the Ukrainian muslim bloggers. Artist Masha Maroz takes us on a journey through the ancestral rites of Polesia and Mihaela Drăgan invokes Roma superstitions about witches.

Myth, Religion and War

Religion has played a key role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

When bombs are raining down all around, when freedom of expression is removed, does this make you laugh? Tracks East looks at how humour is used as a weapon in testing times in Belarus, Ukraine and Bulgaria. (And how dictators don’t have a very developed sense of humour.)

Humour as a Weapon

Tracks East looks at how humour is used as a weapon in testing times in Belarus, Ukraine and Bulgaria. (And how dictators don’t have a very developed sense of humour.)

“The world has lost its love for democracy. The world has become disappointed with the power elite. The world has begun to turn to dictatorship” So said Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the Moscow opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta, on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. While Belarus and Russia are striking examples of dictatorships,  Tracks East also looks at the situation in Iran.

Dictators: Control over Mind and Body

Dictatorships want to control your mind and body. Tracks looks at the situation in Russia, Belarus and Iran.

Tracks East interviews Ukrainians who refuse to take up arms and Russian men who have been living in fear of being called up since the call for partial mobilisation.

Tracks East - Mobilisation

In this tenth and final part of Tracks East, Central and Eastern Europeans - journalists, artists, a male model and a former sex worker - hold up a mirror to Western Europeans.

The West Seen from the East

Most Ukrainian refugees are women. Just like much of the visible resistance in Russia. With the men at the front, the women find themselves taking on new responsibilities. On more than one level. They fight, save their families, reinvent themselves. What role do they play in this war? And how has this conflict affected them?

Women in War

Most Ukrainian refugees are women. Just like much of the visible resistance in Russia. With the men at the front, the women find themselves taking on new responsibilities.

If the truth is the first victim of war, many voices are trying to defend it in Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere. Alternative culture programme Tracks goes east to meet journalists and artists from Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia who have a different perspective on the war in Ukraine. On the programme: propaganda and counter-propaganda in times of conflict.

Propaganda and Truth

lternative culture programme "Tracks" goes east to meet journalists and artists from Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia who have a different perspective on the war in Ukraine

A Polish cyber elf, a Ukrainian DJ on the front line, a militant Russian grandmother, and Belarusian hackers... On the face of it, they have little in common. And yet they are all resisting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fighting back on different fronts.

Resistance

A Polish cyber elf, a Ukrainian DJ on the front line, a militant Russian grandmother, and Belarusian hackers...They are all resisting the Russian invasion of Ukraine on different fronts.

Whether they have fled, been banished or deported, some exiles find themselves alone, while others form communities in their host countries. But all feel nostalgia and even homesickness. Tracks East goes in search of the exile experience.

Exile

Tracks East goes in search of the exile experience of those who have fled, been banished or deported.

Can identities be forced, discarded, changed or revived? In the USSR, national identities were a political instrument. Millions of people were resettled, deported, and Russified. Today, the multi-ethnic social fabric of post-soviet nations harbours explosive tensions and the Ukraine war is opening up old wounds. What does identity mean for the next generation?

Identity

The multi-ethnic social fabric of post-soviet nations harbours explosive tensions and the Ukraine war is opening up old wounds. What does identity mean for the next generation?

Tracks East highlights the multiplicity of creative and surprising expressions of solidarity with Ukraine by artists in Ukraine and elsewhere.

Solidarity

At the cusp of adulthood, an entire generation is now facing an unprecedented crisis. Between escape and resistance, Gen East shares its vision of tomorrow with us.

New Generation

Between escape and resistance, Gen East shares its vision of tomorrow with us.

In 1991, the Soviet empire collapsed, giving rise to the Russian Federation and fifteen other independent states. Today, Vladimir Putin does not respect the sovereignty of these independent nations, particularly Ukraine. How is a nation defined? Are borders the only constituent element? A focus on the renewed patriotism in the post-Soviet world.

The New Patriotism

More than 30 years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. What remains today of what was the largest federation of states in the world? As the Ukraine war shows, the ghosts of the USSR still linger. Nowhere is safe for critics of the Kremlin: they could be denounced to the authorities by their own families and neighbours.

Soviet Heritage

Nowhere is safe for critics of the Kremlin: they could be denounced to the authorities by their own families and neighbours.

Russian artists have two choices: silence, or exile. There's been a mass creative exodus in recent weeks, including Russian rap stars like Face and Oxxxymiron. Art rockers IC3PEAK post protest videos that would get them arrested in Russia. TikTok star Nikita Sass bravely continues to post his opinion and stays. Few dare to do that.

Russian Artists Against the War

Russian artists have two choices: silence, or exile

Tracks

As much of Western Europe worries about having enough gas for the winter, Tracks East looks at how people in Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine are facing the energy crisis and a cold winter ahead.

Winter of War

Tracks East looks at how people in Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine are facing the energy crisis and a cold winter ahead.

Suddenly it's back - the fear of nuclear Armageddon. Tracks East explores this highly explosive topic in this latest episode. Ukrainian writer Mitya Churikov recalls the Chernobyl disaster and ask whether Zaporizhzhya will be the trauma of the next generation. Tracks East also meets bestselling Russian author Dmitry Gukhowsky, whose novel Metro 2033 imagines a post-apocalyptic Moscow after a nuclear war.

Going Nuclear

Suddenly it's back - the fear of nuclear Armageddon. Tracks East explores this highly explosive topic in this latest episode.

Tracks East

All videos

Tracks East

Myth, Religion and War

Tracks East

Humour as a Weapon

Tracks East

Dictators: Control over Mind and Body

Tracks East - Mobilisation

Tracks East

The West Seen from the East

Tracks East

Women in War

Tracks East

Propaganda and Truth

Tracks East

Resistance

Tracks East

Exile

Tracks East

Identity

Tracks East

Solidarity

Tracks East

New Generation

Tracks East

The New Patriotism

Tracks East

Soviet Heritage

Tracks

Russian Artists Against the War

Tracks East

Winter of War

Tracks East

Going Nuclear