Martin Solik

University of Ostrava · Department of Human Geography and Regional Development

By stepping up linkages with post-Soviet states and by creating a various and sophisticated scope of soft power instruments, the Russian federation has striven to maintain its strong influence and simultaneously sought to block Western impact in the Post-soviet region. The principal goal of this study is to explore how the Russian political establi...

The recognition of the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2019 sparked a debate in the Orthodox world about the legitimacy of such an act. In the present study, we aim to explain, through the concept of theopolitics, this event which has caused a schism in the contemporary Orthodox Church. Following...

The aim of this paper was to identify the nature of hybrid threats posed by Russia in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, subsequently, to identify to what extent the Kremlin is successful in destabilising the political situation in this country. For this purpose, disciplined interpretative case study was employed. This study is primarily based on four exp...

This study addresses Russian hybrid threats in the Western Balkans in the context of the ongoing European integration process. Two countries were selected for this purpose: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. This study is based on field research conducted in Sarajevo, Novi Sad and Belgrade in August 2021. The authors of this study conducted a total...

V širokospektrálnej rovine je výskumnou témou tejto knihy fenomén ruskej mäkkej moci. Užšie špecifikovaným cieľom je zhodnotiť potenciál ruskej mäkkej moci v rámci jednej z kľúčových zložiek mäkkej moci – politických hodnôt. Za týmto účelom sú detailným spôsobom prezentované súčasné ruské politické hodnoty, ktoré sú dnes (v novembri 2021) v medziná...

The aim of this study was to explore the reasons why the United States supported the pro-Western candidate for Venezuelan President Juan Guaidó in January 2019. To achieve this goal, Walt’s balance of threat was employed. This theory assumes that states try to balance potential threats. The study concludes that the United States felt threatened by...

The ongoing polarization of European society in the political-ideological context is apparent. This polarization causes considerable tension in society. Sophisticated soft power based on political values and policies that Russia has been using against the West especially since 2012 is a power struggle for people’s minds and souls. Russia does not o...

This paper looks at selected one-sided pro-kremlin websites in Slovakia through thematic discursive analysis. Enforcement of one-sided propagandistic thoughts and opinions, primarily through freely available internet media, has become one of the most important aspects of hybrid warfare in today's world. The aim of this paper was to identify the spe...

This study takes a closer look at the kind of power that is used by one country in order to achievement of its aims in another country abroad. This is the phenomenon of “soft power”, which is presented in this study in a different dimension. In the literature, the term of “soft power” is usually associated with the Western world, culture, attractio...

The successor countries of the former Soviet Union are facing many problems in building their national character, respectively, their national identity. One of the important aspects in the construction of national identity is growing, but controversial role of religion and religious institutions in post-Soviet societies. In Belarus and Ukraine inde...

Islam in Crimea and Radicalism: Russia's attitude towards the Crimean Tatars aft er the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula-repression or integration? Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in March 2014 sounded like a memento as 70 years since Stalin's deportations of the Crimean Tatars from Crimea to Central Asia were commemorated. Th e T...