Executive Summary: The number of policemen in the Russian Federation has declined significantly since the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as many have gone to fight. Now, more than a third of the police positions in Russia are vacant. Lack... MORE

Executive Summary: Georgian Dream won all 64 municipalities in the October 4 local elections amid boycotts from two leading opposition parties, record-low turnout, and limited election monitoring, further consolidating its control in the last constitutionally mandated election until 2028. On October 20, the opposition party... MORE

In memory of Janusz Bugajski, friend, colleague, and promoter of Promethean Ideas Executive Summary: Moscow is increasingly alarmed by the spread of Prometheanism, a set of ideas developed in pre-war Poland that posits that the Muscovite state is an empire, joint efforts can best achieve... MORE

Executive Summary: Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party has expanded its efforts to criminalize dissent and punish the opposition by criminalizing protests and creating a blacklist of individuals barred from political office. To maintain a quasi-democratic façade, Georgian Dream managed to persuade one of the so-called... MORE

Executive Summary: Human rights activists in Russia believe that the actual number of political prisoners serving time for anti-war views in Russia may be several times larger than is known to human rights organizations. Russia’s political prisoners increasingly come from non-political, working-class backgrounds, reflecting the... MORE

Executive Summary: Late-Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, calls for Europe to develop a united, long-term strategy toward Russia while preserving the country’s territorial integrity. The Russian opposition remains fragmented, divided between Moscow-centric reformists such as Navalnaya’s camp and ethno-national or regionalist forces... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia is reforming its higher education system to instill an ultra-patriotic ideology through new required courses, such as “Fundamentals of Russia’s Statehood,” designed by the presidential administration with the goal of cultivating a “patriotic intelligentsia.” Structural changes include replacing the bachelor’s/master’s model with... MORE

Executive Summary: Veterans returning from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine pose challenges not only to Russian society but also to the political elite, where the Kremlin fears returning veterans could grow into a challenge to the powers that be. Putin has announced a... MORE

Executive Summary: Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in his annual address to the nation on September 8, announced sweeping reforms, including digitalization and the creation of a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to modernize governance and boost efficiency. The new “Digital Qazaqstan” strategy aims to unify... MORE

Executive Summary: Moscow is expanding its efforts to use Buddhists within the Russian Federation to expand its influence in Buddhist countries abroad, despite facing growing problems among its own Buddhist population due to its divided response to the war against Ukraine. While it can still... MORE