Europe | Stop the war

Anti-war parties are set to clean up in eastern German elections

Scepticism about support for Ukraine runs deep in parts of the former communist republic

A woman walks past an election campaign billboard of the leftist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance
Photograph: Getty Images
|DRESDEN

ANATOLI CALUTCOV, who was born in the Soviet Union, slotted right in when he moved to Dresden 20 years ago. Visiting western parts of Germany always felt a bit strange, he says, but Dresden was like home—perhaps because it used to sit in the communist East German republic (GDR). Business is still brisk in Kalinka, the Russian food shop he runs, even if these days his Russian customers have been largely replaced by Ukrainian refugees.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Peace in our time”

From the August 17th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Europe

The “Trumpnado”, a wave shaped like Donald Trump's profile, crushing a boat with a European flag.

Can the good ship Europe weather the Trumpnado?

Tossed by political storms, the continent must dodge a new threat

Demonstrators march, shouting slogans against tourists in Barcelona

Spain’s proposed house tax on foreigners will not fix its shortage

Pedro Sánchez will need the opposition’s help to increase supply


Men from Ukraine’s 155th army brigade

A French-sponsored Ukrainian army brigade has been badly botched

The scandal reveals serious weaknesses in Ukraine’s military command


A TV dramatisation of Mussolini’s life inflames Italy

With Giorgia Meloni in power, the fascist past is more relevant than ever

France’s new prime minister is trying to court the left

François Bayrou gambles with Emmanuel Macron’s economic legacy

How the AfD got its swagger back

Germany’s hard-right party is gaining support even as it radicalises