Description
The European liberal order has been facing mounting challenges from nationalist and revisionist forces within and outside the European Union (EU). Russia, in particular, has fundamentally contested EU norms, seeking to diffuse its authoritarian mode of governance across Europe by establishing a network of state and non-state actors – a client-set – that aims at reshaping the post-1989 European order. The resource flows between Russia and its supporters as well as Russia’s overall network strategy are still little understood and systematically analysed. This Cooperation and Conflict in Eastern Europe (KonKoop) conference intends to uncover and map Russia’s client-set, trying to understand the resource flows, motives of partnering, and the interplay of dependenceand autonomy both on the dyadic and the network level. In doing so, the conference addresses a set of overarching questions:
- How does Russia establish its European network?
- Which of these partners qualify as clients of Russia?
- Which are the crucial hubs within the network?
- Can we discern patterns in Russia’s networking across Europe?
The goals of this project are to map Russia’s overall network by employing social network analysis, trace individual partnerships on the dyadic level, and compare Russia’s strategy within and outside the EU.
Monday, 21 September 2026
Until 15:00- Arrival
15:30 – 16:00 Welcome & Introduction
1) Rafael Biermann, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
2) Nicoló Fasola, University of Bologna
3) Sebastian Hoppe, Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS)
16:00 – 18:00 Panel I: Russia’s Patron-Client Networks in the European Core
1) Russia’s Patron-Client Network in France
Cecile Vaissie , Université Rennes-II
2) Russian-Speaking Communities in Germany: Putin’s Men?
Andreas Heinemann-Gru der, University of Bonn
3) Russia’s Patron-Client Networks in Brussels
Margarita Zavadskaya, Finnish Institute for International Affairs
Discussant: Sebastian Hoppe, Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS)
18:00 – 18:45 Break and Transfer to Senatssaal
18:45 – 19:30 Keynote ‘The Moscow Connection. Russian Networks in Germany and Beyond’
Markus Wehner, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Senatssaal, University Main Building, Furstengraben 1, 07743 Jena
20:00 Welcome Dinner (all participants invited, excl. drinks)
Gasthaus “Zur Noll”, Oberlauengasse 19, 07743 Jena
Tuesday, 22 September 2026
09:00 – 10:30 Panel II: Russia’s Patron-Client Networks in the Eastern
European Union
1) Fringe Clients and Ideological Proxies? Russia’s Thin-Client Influence Network in Poland, 2012–2026
Wojciech Michnik, Jagiellonian University
2) Russian Patrons, Estonian Clients: Between Influence Operations and Trans-Border Violence
Andrey Makarychev, University of Tartu
Discussant: Rafael Biermann, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
11:00 – 12:30 Panel III: Russia’s Patron-Client Networks in the Caucasus
1) From Dyads to Nexus: Rethinking Patron–Client Relations in the Russia–Armenia Azerbaijan Triangle
Erik Davtyan, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena
Eduard Abrahamyan, University of Leicester
2) Puppet or Partner? How Georgia’s Ruling Regime Manages Its Relationship with Russia between Hedging and Patronage
Bidzina Lebanidze, Ilia State University & Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Giorgi Gvalia, Ilia State University
Discussant: Geza Tasner, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
12:30 – 15:00 Lunch
(all participants invited, excl. drinks) & Walk in Botanical Garden
Restaurant “Kartoffelhaus”, Markt 13, 07743 Jena
Botanischer Garten Jena, Furstengraben 26, 07743 Jena
15:00 – 17:00 Panel V: Russia’s Patron-Client Networks in Central, Southern and Southeastern Europe (I)
1) Russia’s Tripartite Patron-Client Relationship with Serbia & Republika Srpska: Client Agency and Impact on Governance
Nina Caspersen, University of York
Sonja Stojanovic Gajic, Belgrade Singidunum University
2) Waltzing with the Bear. Energy, Neutrality and Far-Right Brokerage in Austro Russian Relations
Aron Buzogany, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Doris Wydra, University of Salzburg
3) Networked Patronage: Russian Influence in Moldova
Anna Seliverstova, King’s College London
Kayla Draheim, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Xueru Zhang, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Discussant: Nicolo Fasola, University of Bologna
19:30 Dinner (self-pay)
Cafe “Stilbruch”, Wagnergasse 1-3, 07743 Jena
Wednesday, 23 September 2026
09:00 – 10:30 Panel VI: Russia’s Patron-Client Networks in Central, Southern and Southeastern Europe (II)
1) Budapest’s Eastern Turn: Patronage Networks and Hungary’s Realignment with Moscow, 2010-2026
Geza Tasner, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
2) Patron-Client Networks in Russia-Italy Relations: The Role of Business, Culture, and Values
Clara della Valle, University of Bologna
Eleonora Tafuro Ambrosetti, Italian Institute for International Political Studies
Ilaria Ferrante, Italian Institute for International Political Studies
Discussant: Sebastian Hoppe, Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS)
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
11:00 – 12:30 Introduction to the KonKoop Labs
Iaroslav Boretskii, Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS)
Ivaylo Dinev, Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS)
Mela Žuljević [REMOTE], Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography (IfL)
12:30 – 14:30 Lunch
(all participants invited, excl. drinks) & Walk through Wenigenjena and Paradies Restaurant “Versilia”, Wagnergasse 5, 07743 Jena
14:30 – 16:00 Aligning Papers & KonKoop Labs
Iaroslav Boretskii, Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS)
Ivaylo Dinev, Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS)
16:00 – 16:30 Coffee Break
16:30 – 18:00 Wrap-Up, Publication Plan & Synthesizing Roundtable
Rafael Biermann, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Nicoló Fasola, University of Bologna
Sebastian Hoppe, Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS)
18:00 End of Conference
19:00 Farewell Dinner (self-pay)
Cafe “Schillerhof”, Helmboldstraße 1, 07749 Jena