Latest Articles about Russia

Is Sleeping Beauty Kaliningrad Oblast About to Wake Up?

In early October, the Estonian media reported that Russia was transporting, by ship, Iskander short-range ballistic missiles from Ust Luga (Leningrad Oblast) to the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad (ERR, October 7). This news sparked a wave of commentary by politicians and experts in the Baltic... MORE

As US Elections Conclude, Putin Rediscovers Moderation

This year’s United States presidential election campaign may have been like no other before it in the intensity of acrimony and the starkness of choices. But as every other, it comes to an end in the first full week of November. In its final stretch,... MORE

Strategic Assessment: Ukraine Faces New Challenges After War Shock

The following political landscape piece is a part of Eurasia Daily Monitor’s special quarterly series of strategic assessments of developments across Eurasia. These pieces examine recent important developments and trends in the region, particularly since this past summer, and anticipate where those trend lines may... MORE

Fueling Russia’s Arctic Obsession

A recent article in the Financial Times (October 23) ran with the headline “Russia’s Arctic Obsession.” And this has undoubtedly become an entirely justified characterization of Moscow’s approach to its High North. The Arctic’s economic potential is closely linked to the price of oil, which... MORE

Russian Information Warfare—Not Just Hackers and Trolls

“Information warfare,” according to the Russian definition of the term, combines technology (i.e., cyber warfare and electronic warfare) with psychology (“winning hearts and minds”) (Encyclopedia.mil.ru, accessed October 27). When commenting on the psychological aspect of Russian information operations, foreign observers generally focus on the strategic... MORE

The Kuznetsov Smokescreen: Russia’s Peculiar Naval Taskforce to Syria

The Russian aerospace forces (Vozdushno Kosmicheskye Sily—VKS) continue to bomb the Syrian opposition, as Russia’s Iranian-led allies carry on land attacks against the rebel-controlled half of Aleppo. But meanwhile, Russia’s two largest warships—the carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and nuclear battle cruiser Pyotr Velikiy—have reached the Mediterranean.... MORE