This talk will examine the present situation in eastern Europe and some of the neighboring countries.  The first order of business will be a discussion of the situation in Ukraine, which has seen a great deal of turmoil in the past years. From Ukraine, there is a natural transition to a discussion of Putin’s Russia and the third eastern Slavic country, Belarus.  If time permits, three other groups of countries will be discussed in the following hierarchical order:  1) the three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania;  2) the three states of the Caucasus region: Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan; and 3) the several states which were the former Islamic Republics of the USSR.  The actual or prospective roles of NATO and the European Union will be considered as well.