Executive summary: Following the adoption of the “foreign agents” law in Georgia, the ruling Georgian Dream party has adopted the first reading of a bill and 18 legislative acts restricting the rights of sexual minorities. Georgian experts believe this legislation plays on the conservative views... MORE

Executive Summary:  New discussions about amending the Russian Constitution to allow for the death penalty have stimulated calls for more fundamental changes in the future, including dropping the document’s commitment to multinationalism and the existing non-Russian republics.  In the wake of recent terrorist attacks, doing... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov recently claimed that 520,000 workers have been added to the country’s military-industrial complex since the beginning of 2023, though he conceded that the sector is still facing a deficit of 160,000 employees. These estimates, however, misrepresent a... MORE

Executive Summary: Moscow’s forces in Ukraine face increasing problems with the military, both at the front and at home. These issues are bound to affect Russia’s ability to fight in the coming months. At the front, Russian commanders are dealing with fragging, desertions, and corruption.... MORE

Executive Summary: The Kremlin is increasingly relying on the state-registered Cossack movement to feign interethnic harmony and national unity in Russia, pushing back against reports of growing social unrest throughout the country. While the Cossacks are touted as rising above ethnic differences, some still promote... MORE

Executive Summary: Pro-Kremlin analysts increasingly insist that Moscow is becoming a leader in the next phase of global technological advancement and is moving toward the economy of the future. Some official statistics indicate otherwise. Russian production and technological development still depend heavily on foreign-made machine... MORE

Executive Summary: In June, Baku reiterated its demand that any peace agreement must explicitly address changes in the Armenian Constitution, including the removal of what Azerbaijan and Türkiye perceive as territorial claims against them. Since taking power in 2018, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has... MORE

Executive Summary: The deadly Islamist violence against Christian and Jewish centers in two Dagestani cities is the latest in a string of such actions involving Dagestanis and a continuation of the tectonic shifts there that cast doubt on Moscow’s control. These developments are rooted in... MORE

Executive Summary: Georgia faces a civilizational dilemma between democratic and non-democratic worlds specifically exemplified with the developments surrounding the recent adoption of the law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence.” Georgian Dream does not itself want to officially end Georgia’s European course and instead seeks to... MORE

Executive Summary: The Russian Defense Ministry has seen numerous new appointments over the past few months, including the May appointment of new Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and the replacement of ten of 12 deputy defense ministers. These replacements are erratic and are rife with nepotism... MORE