The Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum, held on October 23–24, in the Russian resort city of Sochi, displayed Moscow’s renewed ambition to play a significant role in Africa (TASS, October 20; The Africa Report, August 19). Increasingly, the Kremlin perceives the African continent as a... MORE

Russia’s defense ministry has announced a breakthrough in its ongoing efforts to introduce advanced automated command and control (C2) within its Armed Forces. The importance of this development cannot be underestimated, as it places the Russian military decision-making process and automated C2 beyond the existing... MORE

On November 14, during the Third International Conference for Maritime Security, in Odesa, Ukrainian Navy commander Admiral Ihor Voronchenko said that a Russian Tu-22M3 (Backfire) had been observed simulating the launch of a missile strike on this coastal city (Dumskaya, November 14). Voronchenko added that... MORE

On October 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the National Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence (NSDAI) for the period until 2030. During the unveiling of the new strategy, Putin noted that “the global market for products using artificial intelligence will grow almost 17-fold... MORE

For over a decade, Moscow’s propaganda machine and its networks of agents and agents of influence have targeted Germany. Russian narratives have played on German anger about the influx of Muslim immigrants, bolstered the political right’s hostility to change it feels threatens its values, encouraged... MORE

As spirited debates over Russia-Belarus integration rage on, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka traveled to Vienna. Considering that the sanctions the European Union had imposed on Belarus in 2006 were only lifted in 2016, Lukashenka’s visit to Austria was symbolically seen as “cutting a window into... MORE

One of the hallmarks of Vladimir Putin’s leadership has been the steady rise in capabilities and mission sets for the Russian navy—the Military-Maritime Fleet (Voyenno-Morskoy Flot—VMF). Already in February 2014, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu outlined an agenda for a network of global bases for the... MORE

Russia is often described in the West and by its own “non-systemic” opposition as a police state and an autocracy, and with good reason. The suppression of street protests in Moscow last summer was demonstratively brutal, but it was also ineffectual and counterproductive. The monopolization... MORE

On October 27, several thousand gathered in downtown Elista, the capital of Russia’s Buddhist republic of Kalmykia, to protest the appointment of Dmitry Trapeznikov as mayor of the city. Trapeznikov is a former politician from the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), one of the two... MORE

Like all other branches of the Russian Armed Forces, the Naval Infantry, popularly called the “Black Berets,” suffered from the effects of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Starting in the 1990s, units were disbanded, the number of their exercises declined, and the introduction of... MORE