Moscow's success in the war with Ukraine would mean that for the first time since the Cold War, an authoritarian regime has overthrown a democratic government.. This is the main thesis of the report of the Nations in Transit project (“Nations on the way”), which was published by the human rights organization Freedom House, reports “Voice of America”.

“Autocrats attack the liberal international order, and unscrupulous “people’s representatives” choose corrupt and anti-liberal forms of government, the primary role of democracy. begins to succumb to leadership violence and abuse,” write the authors of the report..

The authors of the report are convinced that Vladimir Putian's brutal invasion of Ukraine is an existential threat not only to Ukraine's sovereignty, but also to the liberal international order..

“Putin’s war is the most recent and darkest manifestation of his (Putin’s) predatory and malicious influence on neighboring states. When free societies resisted his efforts to corrupt their media and corrupt their politicians, Putin resorted to threats or actual military force, as he did in Georgia in 2008 or Ukraine in 2014.. When the chairs under authoritarian rulers tottered as a result of demands for change expressed by their peoples, Putin supported their regimes and increased their dependence on Moscow, as was the case in Belarus and most recently in Kazakhstan,” the authors of the report characterize the current situation..

“However,” they stress, “the stakes are even higher in the current conflict [in Ukraine].. If the Kremlin manages to subjugate a sovereign, democratic Ukraine, it will be the first time in the region since the Cold War that an authoritarian power overthrew a freely elected national government.”.

“Even if these [Kremlin] efforts fail, they have already destabilized the entire region, potentially stimulating the growing anti-democratic transformation taking place in Europe and Eurasia,” the authors of the report believe..

“The countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia are increasingly moving along two different vectors: into the abyss of total autocracy or into the gray zone of “hybrid” rule, where seemingly democratic structures cover up anti-democratic policies,” the authors of the document state..

They note that Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia and the five Central Asian countries continue to slide to the bottom of the Freedom House rankings as long-standing despots slaughter dissent and strengthen their positions amid alleged threats from external and internal “enemies”.

Today, there are 11 such hybrid regimes in the region, although back in 2004 there were only four. Only six countries can be described as established democracies: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, although these six have been ravaged by anti-liberalism and corruption in recent years, the report highlights..

The danger posed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has already shaken democrats around the world today. But it will take a significant and stable counterforce to put the entire region back on a positive trajectory.. If regional and global leaders want to stand up to authoritarian aggression, then they must show the same determination that the Ukrainians showed - such is the conviction of Freedom House experts.

At the same time, they emphasize, not a single country in the region has become as vivid as Russia, an example of the deadly consequences of the coming to power of a person who is used to solving any problems with brute force.. And they come to the conclusion that during his 22 years at the top of the Russian vertical of power, Putin has systematically undermined the institutions designed to control the arbitrariness of the executive branch, eventually transforming the hybrid regime of the 2000 model into the established authoritarian regime of the 2022 model..

The countries whose political situation is covered in the report traditionally include all post-Soviet states and countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which before the collapse of the USSR were part of the Soviet sphere of influence and, in particular, the Warsaw Pact.

The report notes the decline in democratic trends in the region as a whole for the 18th year in a row.

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Freedom House is a non-governmental organization headquartered in Washington (USA). Founded in 1941. Known for research on the state of political and civil liberties. The objects of Freedom House research are monitoring democratic changes in the world, supporting democracy and protecting democracy and human rights in the world..

Funded by donations from governments, organizations and individuals[. Freedom House's Supervisory Board includes well-known business and trade union leaders, prominent journalists and academics, as well as former diplomats and government officials..