In December 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced its ambitious plan for increasing the size of the Russian Armed Forces to 1.5 million personnel by the end of 2026. To this, the number of contracted soldiers within the Russian Armed Forces has to be... MORE

On February 1, the European Commission published analytical reports on Georgia’s, Ukraine’s and Moldova’s respective alignment with the European Union’s acquis. The reports complement the opinions adopted by the European Commission on the three countries’ applications for EU accession in June 2022. In its report,... MORE

The agendas of the Belarusian official and opposition-minded media outlets create the impression of two parallel worlds. While some common themes exist, such as the creation of new government entities, the treatment of such subjects could not be more contrasting. According to Belta, Belarus’s official... MORE

Morale is a critical resource during wartime, and the role of Russia’s state-organized Cossack movement in shoring up the home front has been significant (see EDM, May 10, 2022). In truth, making President Vladimir Putin’s case for his war to the Russian people may ultimately... MORE

The disproportionate use of soldiers from the primarily non-ethnic Russian republics in the North Caucasus, Middle Volga and Far Eastern regions in President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine has attracted widespread attention since the beginning of Russia’s campaign a year ago. Whether this reflects poverty,... MORE

While President Xi Jinping has often been criticized by Western politicians, as well as intellectuals inside and outside of China, for restoring quasi-Maoist values, he has at least been consistent in his conservative agenda. On foreign policy, he has never strayed from the Chinese Communist... MORE

By 2023, Russia’s budgetary planning for civilian and military space programs was presumed to have changed compared with previous years due to the breakdown in space cooperation with the United States and Europe (with the exception of the International Space Station); the failures of Russia’s... MORE

On January 22, Belarusians identifying as pro-Western (as opposed to those who identify as Russo-centric) celebrated the 160th anniversary of the so-called Kastus Kalinowski uprising on Belarusian soil. Thus, Belarusian émigrés organized a performance in front of the Russian embassy in Warsaw in commemoration. The... MORE

During a press conference on January 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised the Georgian government for its decision not to join the Western sanctions regime against Russia. However, Tbilisi considered this an embarrassment, as it rejects any formal cooperation with Russia. On this, Lavrov... MORE

On December 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part, via videoconference, in the commissioning ceremony for the Kovykta gas field, the largest in Eastern Siberia (Kremlin.ru, December 21, 2022). The field’s recoverable reserves are estimated at 1.8 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, but... MORE