Executive Summary: In early August, the Kremlin began discussing a project to move approximately 170 large state corporations from Moscow to the regions where they extract profits, primarily from natural resources.  Putin’s “de-Moscowization” moves remain nominal, as state corporations maintain executive offices in Moscow and... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin has opened the way for memorials to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin by praising his role in the Soviet victory in World War II and silencing any discussion of Stalin’s repressions. The push to restore Stalin to a position of... MORE

Executive Summary: According to a recent study by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), re-exports of cars from Georgia are at a historic high, with light vehicles worth $1.2 billion exported in the first six months of 2025. Since 2021, car re-exports... MORE

Executive Summary: The August 8 summit between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in Washington, D.C., with mediation by U.S. President Donald Trump, reached a deal on the Zangezur Corridor, envisioning an “unimpeded” transit route through Armenia to Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave. Domestic opposition in Armenia has... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 5 attended the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok following the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and military parade in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). He discussed the war against Ukraine and Russia’s economic situation. The Kremlin likely... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin has seemingly reversed the Kremlin’s position toward cooperation with the United States and Ukraine at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) on September 2 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. The Kremlin, until now,... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian fatality estimates in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine vary widely, but analysis of open-source data suggests they exceed 175,000 between February 2022 and July 2025. Older Russian men and ethnic minorities are disproportionately dying in the war—many deaths come from... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing and Budapest have reportedly finalized the details of an extradition treaty that reflects Beijing’s growing involvement in Hungary’s internal security. The new treaty comes as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has begun investing heavily in various sectors of the Hungarian economy.... MORE

Executive Summary: The Russian Foreign Ministry’s premier journal, International Life, says the Baltic Sea region has become “a potential theater of military conflict,” one where there is no chance that regimes more amenable to Moscow will arise in the absence of a radical shift in... MORE