Giorgio Comai ita eng bhs

Giorgio Comai - Senior researcher and data cruncher

PhD at Dublin City University, MA in East European Studies and degree in Political Science from the University of Bologna. He is an expert on post-Soviet affairs, with research focusing in particular on de facto states and on different approaches for the bulk extraction and analysis of textual contents form the web in this context. He is the author of a text-mining package for the R programming language. He is member of the board of directors of Asiac, Italy’s academic association for the study of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Exchange student at Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland, and Russian State University for the Humanities in Moscow, Russia; he has been visiting regularly Russia and other post-Soviet countries since 2000. He speaks fluently Russian and Romanian. 


Articles by Giorgio Comai

Transnistria: when buying time, make sure to use it wisely

19/07/2024 -  Giorgio ComaiBernardo Venturi

Russia’s gas subsidy – a key ingredient enabling Transnistria’s political economy – may remain in place for a couple more years, but its existence is based on increasingly shaky grounds. Chișinău is ensuring its own energy security, but long term stability in Moldova requires solid arrangements also for Tiraspol

Transnistria “under blockade”

13/06/2024 -  Giorgio Comai

A media analysis of Transnistria’s main news agency and TV station shows just how insistently local media and politicians talk about being “under blockade”. The expression is exceedingly dramatic. But Chișinău should do more to allay immediate and pragmatic concerns of local residents

Georgia: why the “Foreign Agents” law now?

17/05/2024 -  Giorgio Comai

The ruling party “Georgian Dream” acts on the basis of the obsessions of its founder, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who sees threats to his interests coming from the West and from a potential change of government. The risk is an authoritarian turn, not a pro-Russian course

Armed conflict of the Dniester, thirty years later

07/02/2024 -  Giorgio Comai

A newly-published book explores the circumstances around the violence that accompanied Transnistria’s de facto secession from Moldova. Three decades later, finding new answers to old conundrums is key to preventing ongoing tensions from escalating

Has Transnistria just entered its last year with Russia’s gas subsidy?

18/01/2024 -  Giorgio Comai

A large share of Transnistria’s economy, including most of its budget, depends on a structural subsidy it receives from Russia in the form of free gas. As Ukraine has promised to stop all Russian pipelines going through its territory by the end of 2024, how will Transnistria cope?

Ukraine should reconsider its male travel ban

21/07/2023 -  Giorgio Comai

It is a violation of human rights, it is unnecessary, it forces unbearable decisions on families, and creates new vulnerabilities. As it renews its martial and mobilization laws in August, Ukraine should reconsider its male travel ban

The Hybrid Warriors and the Invasion of Ukraine

24/11/2022 -  Giorgio Comai

What were the proximate dynamics that made possible what took place in the Donbas between 2014 and 2022? And what has even happened? An important part of the answer is convincingly outlined in Anna Arutunyan’s excellent latest book

The Italian maritime republics and slave trade from the Caucasus

08/10/2021 -  Giorgio Comai

Italian maritime republics such as Venice and Genoa were very active in the Black Sea between the 13th and 15th century. Their presence in Abkhazia and their involvement in the slave trade from the Western Caucasus are the main subjects of a recently published book

Ranking European regions by Olympics medals

04/08/2021 -  Giorgio ComaiLorenzo Ferrari

What if the Olympic medal table was based on the number of medals won by regions, not by countries? Athletes born in Ile-de-France have been particularly successful so far – but also Western Macedonia, Zagreb and Adriatic Croatia have been doing well

EU takes its best action against foreign interference when tackling the big issues

22/12/2020 -  Giorgio Comai

A swirl of new acts and strategies has been announced in the last couple of weeks by the European Commission, including the European Democracy Action Plan, the Digital Markets Act, and the EU’s Cybersecurity Strategy. If we ask the right questions about foreign interference, these are all part of the answer