ABSTRACT
Some of the East European countries are in a relatively decent situation, while others suffer from serious difficulties but, so far, they have avoided both catastrophic failures and stunning successes. The economic situation has not destabilized any of these countries, but nor has it enhanced their stability. The course of events points to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (FSU) as, the focal point of danger for the destabilization for international relations in general – at least at present. The East European countries differ in terms of their past, their historical traditions and peculiarities, their present situation and the problems they face. Little by little, Russia is becoming an ever more destabilized and destabilizing part of the FSU – although, even before Chechnya, the situation in Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Tadjikistan and Moldova seemed, in some ways, perhaps even more ominous.
