The Muscovite Tsardom portrayed its relentless territorial expansion as “gathering Russian lands.” In many cases, the lands in question were not even Russian, but once conquered, they were subjected to Russification in due course. The tsars and Russian emperors added the informal but glowing title... MORE

At the end of September 2022, four separate leaks were reported on the Nord Stream One and Nord Stream Two pipelines (Svd.se, September 29). Based on preliminary evidence, the damage was deemed to be caused by deliberate acts of sabotage and not resulting from natural... MORE

On July 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a new maritime doctrine, replacing the country’s previous Maritime Doctrine of the Russian Federation, instituted in June 2015 (Kremlin.ru, July 31). The highly ambitious new 106-section policy states throughout that the main security threats to Russia are... MORE

The first week of the “partial mobilization” in Russia, which started on September 21, has demonstrated rampant bureaucratic chaos, a lack of planning and a deficit of training facilities and even basic equipment (72.ru, September 26; Kommersant, September 27; Sekret Firmy, September 28; Ura.ru, September... MORE

On September 14, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed parliament in the wake of clashes at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Pashinyan announced that he would sign a document stipulating that “Armenia will have lasting peace and security in an area of 29,800 square kilometers,” in reference... MORE

On September 23, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei spoke at the most recent United Nations General Assembly session in New York (Facebook.com/belarusmfa, September 23). Opposition-minded commentators focused on what seems to be a contradiction between two refrains of Makei’s speech. On the one hand, he... MORE

The Russian State Duma and Federation Council are set to enact the annexation of Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and the Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” (“DPR”, “LPR”) to the Russian Federation, following the September 23–27 annexation “referendums” in those areas. The Duma’s chair, Vyacheslav... MORE

On September 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that, given mounting economic sanctions, full “de-dollarization” of the Russian economy is only a matter of time (RBC, September 12). Putin`s remark was preceded by a statement from Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev, who argued that... MORE

In a recent interview, Russian ambassador to Belarus, Boris Gryzlov, noted, “Belarus plays a rather important role in the framework of the special military operation” (Spbdnevnik.ru, September 15). Indeed, during the first phase of the war, the Russian military entered Ukraine’s northern regions and advanced... MORE

The all-out Ukrainian war, waging now for seven months, has already provided several valuable lessons. Indeed, the fighting has tested various prewar ideas on military development that had been widely discussed among Ukrainian military experts before the war. As Russia continues to be an imminent... MORE