Executive Summary: The second round of the Romanian presidential election on May 18 will be a battle for the country’s pro-Western direction. Romania’s constitutional court annulled the November 2024 election and banned ultranationalist Călin Georgescu from running in May after indications of illegal foreign interference... MORE

Executive Summary: Moscow is mulling how to attract or force Russians not officially employed into the workforce in response to a growing labor shortage resulting from demographic decline, the difficulties of attracting and retaining immigrants, and the Kremlin’s military expansion. The Kremlin presents the effort... MORE

Executive Summary: Georgia’s entry at the Eurovision Song Contest this year, “Freedom,” is sung by Mariam Shengelia, who publicly supports the governing pro-Russian political party, Georgian Dream, and has performed at their events. The song has been criticized by Georgians and among fans internationally for... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia will celebrate Victory Day on May 9, marking 80 years since the end of World War II, a moral and existential victory that the Kremlin wields to legitimize its present-day war against Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “Great Patriotic War” narrative excludes... MORE

Executive Summary: Ramzan Kadyrov declared this week that he wants to retire from his position as head of the Chechen Republic but acknowledged that only Russian President Vladimir Putin could release him. Putin agreed to meet with him and appears to have turned down his... MORE

Executive Summary: For more than six years, Bashkortostan has been the site of larger and more prolonged protests and greater repression than any other region of the Russian Federation, especially since Russian President Vladimir Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The protests and repression... MORE

Executive Summary: The Georgian State Registry re-registered “Conservatives for Georgia,” a pro-Russian party tied to political violence and anti-Western rhetoric, signaling the ruling Georgian Dream party’s continued effort to consolidate pro-Russian forces ahead of elections. Ultranationalist groups, originally civil movements promoting anti-Western propaganda, have gained... MORE

Executive Summary: The Kremlin is using Russian ice hockey player Alexander Ovechkin’s record as the all-time National Hockey League–North America’s professional ice hockey league—scorer to promote nationalism, claiming the achievement for Russia. Russian President Putin has long used sports to symbolize Russian values and project... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia’s demographic decline is accelerating, with the population giving birth to fewer babies during the first quarter of 2025 than at any time in the last two centuries. Moscow is alarmed by demographic decline because of the impact of population decline on the... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly relied on expansionist, militaristic foreign policy in his 25-year rule to centralize power and justify the dissolution of Russian federalism. Moscow has stripped regional governments of the power to economically and socially self-develop, leaving them only able... MORE