Executive Summary: Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in his annual address to the nation on September 8, announced sweeping reforms, including digitalization and the creation of a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to modernize governance and boost efficiency. The new “Digital Qazaqstan” strategy aims to unify... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia has become increasingly dependent on trade with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with more than a third of Russia’s total trade turnover being generated by the PRC. The recent memorandum on the development... MORE

Executive Summary: Moscow is expanding its efforts to use Buddhists within the Russian Federation to expand its influence in Buddhist countries abroad, despite facing growing problems among its own Buddhist population due to its divided response to the war against Ukraine. While it can still... MORE

Executive Summary: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, on August 19, met with Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Minsk following a string of previous high-level visits that expanded bilateral relations in commercial and military spheres. Tensions with the West have pushed Belarus and Iran to seek alignment... MORE

Executive Summary: The September 24 Ukrainian naval drone attack on oil terminals in Novorossiysk and Tuapse marked the first time that Ukraine has used maritime drones to attack Russian oil industry facilities.   Ukraine’s development of advanced maritime drones like the Magura and SeaBaby have demonstrated... MORE

Executive Summary: Georgian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) say they are enduring one of the most difficult periods in the country’s history, yet they vow to continue their work despite the financial restrictions. Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office has frozen the bank accounts of seven prominent Georgian civil society... MORE

Executive Summary: The presence of Russian military personnel in Mali has failed to prevent the expansion of the jihadist insurgency into the once-safe central and western regions of the country. Fissures have erupted in Mali’s ruling military junta over issues related to operational cooperation with... MORE

Executive Summary: The Trust, the Soviet secret police’s first great intelligence operation in the 1920s, is making a comeback under Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Moscow setting up Federal Security Service (FSB) groups to penetrate, hamstring, and ultimately discredit emigres opposed to his regime. These... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin is shifting from overt nuclear brinkmanship to using Russia’s nuclear energy program as a “peaceful” tool of influence, especially through technology transfers to developing countries. Putin’s proposal to extend some terms of the U.S.–Russia New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia’s youth organizations have played an important role in the Kremlin’s indoctrination effort, with Russian President Putin himself facilitating their development. Groups such as Yunarmia, Avangard camps, and the “Movement of the First” serve as platforms for indoctrination and militarization of their members,... MORE