Ethnic Russians, who form the core of President Vladimir Putin’s oft-promoted “Russian world,” are rapidly declining in number, with many of those who had identified as Russian in the past no longer doing so—thus driving down the percentage of the Russian Federation’s population that is... MORE

The ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine has created many changes in Russian society, one of which is the continued expansion of the Cossack movement. Two recent changes highlight this process: First, the creation of a new Cossack host (voiska) in Russia looks to be on the... MORE

On December 29, the Belarusian state media reported that an S-300 surface-to-air missile launched by Ukrainian forces had dropped into Belarus, near the village of Horbakha, about 50 kilometers from the shared border with Ukraine (Belta, December 29, 2022). Later, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense... MORE

It was a striking image for a traditional season of joy and hope: Russian President Vladimir Putin attending the Orthodox Christmas service all alone in one of the Kremlin’s cathedrals. This loneliness stands in contrast with his persistent attempts to show himself actively engaging with... MORE

In the wake of growing isolation due to its aggression against Ukraine, Russia’s foreign policy leadership and brain trust have elaborated a new ideology and self-identification that is meant to guide Moscow’s foreign policy moving forward. This orientation rejects Russia’s post-Petrine identification as a European... MORE

In the months since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his expanded invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, fires and explosions have occurred at a minimum of 72 military facilities within Russia—including 44 draft offices and 28 bases. A vast number of other fires and explosions... MORE

Since January 1, the ceiling of military personnel in the Russian Armed Forces has been increased from 1,013,628 to 1,150,628 service members (Kremlin.ru, August 25, 2022), which exceeds the ceiling for 2006–2016 of 1,134,800 people (Kremlin.ru, November 28, 2005). This is the nominal number as... MORE

Speaking at the Russian Energy Week held in Moscow in October 2022, President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia hoped to turn Turkey into an energy hub so that Russian gas may be transited to Europe via Turkey. Putin’s proposal surprised Ankara, though Turkish Minister of... MORE

Over the past few months, Russia watchers have been sounding the alarm about the domestic ramifications of Moscow’s faltering campaign in Ukraine, which appears to have blossomed into a dense nightmare of unintended consequences. The rise of a new and still rare breed of Russian... MORE

Russian officials and international media have given prominent coverage to Moscow’s plans for a transcontinental trade corridor southward to Iran via the Caucasus. These efforts aim to end-run Western sanctions and expand Russian trade in the Indian Ocean basin and beyond. But Russian experts concede... MORE