Based on my recent visit to Belarus and Russia, and ongoing coverage of the media there, here are some observations on political developments in both countries.

The German Democratic Republic came to an end 35 years ago - 2025, is also the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War on 8th May 1945, when the country that was to become the GDR started on its road. These anniversaries are an occasion to remember what the GDR really was, in contrast to the crude propaganda picture spread by the ruling classes in the west.