Dimitar Bechev
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dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev
@dimitarbechev.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1K following 100 posts

Director of the Dahrendorf Programme
St Antony's College, Oxford and Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe
Author: Rival Power: Russia in Southeast Europe and Turkey under Erdoğan (Yale)

Videos
Political science 77%
Sociology 10%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Dimitar Bechev

biepag.bsky.social
Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) @biepag.bsky.social · 4d
🔔BiEPAG member @dimitarbechev.bsky.social
for @carnegieeurope.bsky.social

"The #WesternBalkans are on the path to become a net contributor to EU security, but much more needs to be done.

The 3 NATO members - Albania, North Macedonia, and Montenegro - should lead the way.

tinyurl.com/29cd6fj7
How the Western Balkans Can Contribute to European Defense
The Western Balkans’ defense industry offers Europe a chance to strengthen its security. But to become net contributors, governments across the region must modernize their militaries, attract investme...
carnegieendowment.org

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 5d
Amazing. The architect and urban planner who built Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, was born in Bulgaria. Constantinos Doxiadis came from a Greek family in Stenimachos (Assenovgrad) in 1913, moving to Greece two years after.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constan...
Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 10d
“The fate of China, whose maritime gates have for a century been sagging under the pressure of the West and are now being battered down by Japan, will largely be determined by what happens at the inland gates that open toward, or from, Central Eurasia and Siberia.” Owen Lattimore in 1935.

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 10d
Thanks for the heads-up ;)

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 10d
Charles King writing more than 20 years ago. The Black Sea: A History (Oxford UP: 2004), p. 4.

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 10d
Up there with the historic Delors one.
anandmenon.bsky.social Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 11d
Say what you want about them, they do a great headline.

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 11d
Netflix is on it.

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, David Underdown, Kathleen Kennedy , and 1 more

garius.bsky.social
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 11d
The last survivor of the Crimean War died in 2004.

"Timothy" spent 40 years in the Navy. After retirement, having moved in with the Earl of Devon, she revealed she was a girl.

She would wander round his garden wearing a sign that said. "My name is Timothy. I am very old. Pease do not pick me up".
Picture of a venerable naval tortoise with a sign tied to her shell

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 11d
The closing chapter in my forthcoming book The Scramble for Europe: Russia, China and Turkey Challenging Regional Order discusses rearmament @oxfordacademic.bsky.social
sophiepedder.bsky.social Sophie Pedder @sophiepedder.bsky.social · 11d
Our cover this week

“Europe should take heart and recognise its own strength. Its military budget is already four times larger than Russia’s; its economy is ten times larger. Far from shying away from a financial contest with the Kremlin, Europe should embrace it—and win the war”

Reposted by Dimitar Bechev

wartranslated.bsky.social
WarTranslated (Dmitri) @wartranslated.bsky.social · 11d
Indian Oil Corp resumed buying Russian crude purchasing five cargoes from non-sanctioned entities for December delivery despite US pressure to stop, while other major Indian refiners paused purchases after sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Reuters reports.
www.reuters.com/business/ene...

Reposted by Daniel W. Drezner, Dimitar Bechev

christopherjm.ft.com
Christopher Miller @christopherjm.ft.com · 11d
New: Trump cancelled his Budapest summit with Putin after a Russian memo to Washington holding firm to hardline demands on Ukraine was swiftly followed by a tense call between Rubio and Lavrov. Moscow would not negotiate.
w/ @maxseddon.bsky.social @a-mackinnon.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/d665...
Donald Trump-Vladimir Putin Budapest summit axed following Moscow memo
Russian foreign ministry’s maximalist demands for ending Ukraine war led US to scrap planned meeting
www.ft.com

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 11d
Another meaning in Bulgarian would be horse trader. Biser (meaning Pearl) Dzhambazov is a bit of all three I suppose.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...
Putin’s Minions: How Russia Spies (Ep 1)
Podcast Episode · The Rest Is Classified · 27/04/2025 · 33m
podcasts.apple.com

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 11d
Listened to an old episode on
@restisclassified.bsky.social
on Russia's Bulgarian spy ring in the UK. At some point,
@gordoncorera.bsky.social & D. McClosley
struggle with the surname "Dzhambazov".It actually comes from the Persian jānbāz /جانباز (veteran) -> Turkish cambaz (daredevil/acrobat)

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 11d
For my part, I've been angling for setting up a sultanistic regime in Abingdon-on-Thames.

Reposted by Dimitar Bechev

sophiepedder.bsky.social
Sophie Pedder @sophiepedder.bsky.social · 11d
Our cover this week

“Europe should take heart and recognise its own strength. Its military budget is already four times larger than Russia’s; its economy is ten times larger. Far from shying away from a financial contest with the Kremlin, Europe should embrace it—and win the war”

Reposted by Dimitar Bechev

anandmenon.bsky.social
Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 11d
Say what you want about them, they do a great headline.

Reposted by Tim Bale

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 12d
"Saying buccaneering a lot" - Ganesh is in top form!

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 12d
My new piece:

New measures from the United States and European Union confirm why Russian energy exports were always a double-edged sword. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/29/p...
Why Putin’s Energy Weapon Failed
New measures from the United States and European Union confirm why Russian energy exports were always a double-edged sword.
foreignpolicy.com

Reposted by Dimitar Bechev

timbale.bsky.social
Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 12d
Colour me Janan. (www.ft.com/content/00e9...)

Reposted by Dimitar Bechev

carnegieeurope.bsky.social
Carnegie Europe @carnegieeurope.bsky.social · 14d
The Western Balkans' defense industry can contribute to Europe's security.

But first, governments must modernize their militaries, attract investment, & gradually integrate into the EU's initiatives, say @dimitarbechev.bsky.social & @ilirianagjoni.bsky.social.

carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...
How the Western Balkans Can Contribute to European Defense
The Western Balkans’ defense industry offers Europe a chance to strengthen its security. But to become net contributors, governments across the region must modernize their militaries, attract investme...
carnegieendowment.org

Reposted by François Heisbourg, Dimitar Bechev

kyivindependent.com
The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 15d
⚡️Ukrainian drones target Moscow in overnight attack, mayor says.

Moscow's Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports have temporarily suspended operations in response to the drone threat.
Ukrainian drones target Moscow in overnight attack, mayor says
Moscow's Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports have temporarily suspended operations in response to the drone threat.
kyivindependent.com

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Edgar Morgenroth, Dimitar Bechev

wartranslated.bsky.social
WarTranslated (Dmitri) @wartranslated.bsky.social · 17d
A Chinese LNG tanker owned by Pacific Gas was spotted receiving fuel from a sanctioned Russian vessel off Malaysia, the first documented case of a Chinese ship assisting blacklisted Russian LNG transport, Bloomberg reported.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Reposted by Dimitar Bechev

jkaarsbo.bsky.social
Jacob Kaarsbo @jkaarsbo.bsky.social · 20d
BIG NEWS if true: the Commission looks to have found a solution to use the frozen 🇷🇺 assets to fund 🇺🇦!

www.politico.eu/article/eu-d...
EU closes in on deal to use Russian frozen assets to fund Ukraine
Belgium will give the nod for the Commission to put forward a legal proposal outlining the €140 billion Ukraine loan.
www.politico.eu

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 20d
The President likes Pechenegs better.

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 20d
The EU is about as likely to break up economic ties with Israel as Middle Eastern countries severing relations with Russia.

Reposted by Dimitar Bechev

cplaisant.bsky.social
Clément Plaisant @cplaisant.bsky.social · 22d
Interesting article. Paradoxically, Tufan Erhürman's victory in the presidential election in Northern Cyprus against the candidate supported by the AKP could benefit Ankara, which has not abandoned the negotiating table and intends to improve its relations with Europe.
t24.com.tr/yazarlar/bar...
Seçim sonuçları Ankara’nın işine gelir, artık Rumlar düşünsün
AK Parti liderliği KKTC seçim sonuçlarını vakit geçirmeden kabul etti, zira gelmekte olanın geldiğini çok önceden görmüştü. Sanki seçimlere kendisi müdahale etmemiş gibi Kıbrıs Türk halkının tebrik ed...
t24.com.tr

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 22d
Trump and Putin do what they know best: smoke and mirrors.
open.substack.com/pub/scramble...
The Trump-Putin Charade
When it comes to Ukraine peace talks, it's still the same old game of smoke and mirrors
open.substack.com

Reposted by Dimitar Bechev

atlastc.bsky.social
ATLAS THINK @atlastc.bsky.social · 22d
Check out Dr. Dimitar Bechev’s latest piece on Trump and Putin relations.

atlasthink.org/the-trump-pu... by @dimitarbechev.bsky.social
The Trump-Putin Charade - Atlas Think Club
Now that Gaza is done and dusted,  Donald Trump appears to be getting ready to settle another war, Ukraine. But do not hold your breath. We are nowhere near a ceasefire, much less a peace. Rather, it ...
atlasthink.org

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 22d
I am sure there are countless examples with Polish, Czech, Slovak, Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian etc.

dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Dimitar Bechev @dimitarbechev.bsky.social · 22d
Among the consequences of Ukrainian migration to Central and SE Europe is the cross-pollination btw Ukrainian and Russian and local Slavic languages. Just came across an example by a Russophone Ukrainian from Primorsk (Zaporizhiya) living in Sofia. "Жду на спирке" (остановке).