
Latest Articles about Russia

Lavrov’s Visit to Pyongyang Buries Russian Pivot to Asia
If Russia’s pivot to Asia was not yet dead, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s recent visit to Pyongyang on October 18 and 19 may have sealed its fate (TASS, October 18). Lavrov hailed the “blooming friendship, solidarity, and cooperation” between Russia and North Korea. Choe Son-hui,... MORE

Moscow Re-Organizes Russian Armed Forces (Part Two)
The series of unsuccessful offensives in the Kupyansk and Avdiivka directions have caused major problems for Russian forces in Ukraine (Ukrinform, October 27; Kyiv Independent, October 29). The Russian army is losing military equipment at a high rate, which Moscow seemingly considers a worse problem... MORE

Baku’s Plan to Reach Nakhchivan via Iran Unsettling More Than South Caucasus
Baku and Ankara have dropped plans to establish a land corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave via Armenian territory. Yerevan’s reluctance to reopen the Zangezur Corridor and Western and Iranian opposition to any border changes in the South Caucasus largely motivated this pivot. The Azerbaijani government... MORE

Ukraine and the Global South: Putin’s Two-Front War Against the West (Part Two)
*Read Part One. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech to the Security Council on October 30 marks a further step toward positioning Russia at the forefront of anti-Western forces more globally (Kremlin.ru, October 30). In the Hamas-Israel war, the Kremlin is taking the side of Hamas... MORE

Lukashenka Makes Unconventional Pronouncements on Sidelines of Eurasian Security Conference
On October 26 and 27, the international conference, “Eurasian Security: Reality and Prospects in a Transforming World,” was held in Minsk. The event took place under the auspices of Belarus’s current chairmanship of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). About 300 representatives from 30 countries... MORE

Ethnic Strife Resurgent in Russia
Anti-Semitic demonstrations in various cities in the North Caucasus marked the end of October. On October 29, in Dagestan, several hundred people broke into the Flamingo Hotel in Khasavyurt demanding the removal of Jews who had recently arrived from Israel (Ura.news, October 29). On the... MORE

Ukraine and the Global South: Putin’s Two-Front War Against the West (Part One)
Addressing an expanded session of the Russian Security Council on October 30, President Vladimir Putin outlined a new concept for the struggle against the West (Kremlin.ru, October 30). Putin is seeking to enlist the Global South (not his term) into this struggle alongside Russia. The... MORE

Russia Exploits Israel-Hamas Conflict to Spread Disinformation About War in Ukraine
On October 8, well-known Russian propagandist Andrey Rudenko published a video appearing to show an Israeli Merkava tank that Hamas militants allegedly destroyed with an anti-tank guided missile. According to him, the system that was used to launch the missile had originally been provided to... MORE

Pogroms in North Caucasus Highlight Fragility of Ethnic Relations in Russia
For the first time since the Russian Civil War (November 1917–June 1923), commentators in Russia and abroad are applying the word “pogrom” to the startling events in Russia that began at the end of October. These developments took place not only in Dagestan but also... MORE

Russia Continues to Forcibly Recruit Prisoners and Migrant Workers for War in Ukraine (Part One)
Russia’s war against Ukraine has taken an unpleasant turn for Moscow. Instead of a speedy, triumphant victory, the Russian Armed Forces are effectively wasting human and material resources in the battle for Avdiivka (Ukrinform, October 28). Three factors are pushing the Russian side to continue... MORE