Reports

It is now likely that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be elected for another six-year term in 2024. In the meantime, he will face significant challenges, including rebuilding healthcare, alleviating poverty and reestablishing voter trust in some segments of the population. Unless oil prices begin to rise, Mr. Putin may ...

The Putin administration rushed a wide range of constitutional amendments through parliament during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Most analysts have come to the conclusion that the sole purpose of the changes was to allow the Russian president to hold on to power, but several developments contradict this ...

Evaluating the efficiency of the Russian government is a nearly impossible task because it has no declared policy goals. Corruption remains rampant, and the territorial conflict with Ukraine will require decades before relations between the two countries can be normalized. What is unclear is whether the Putin administration was pursuing ...

French President Emmanuel Macron’s new approach for the Western Balkans has led the European Union to backtrack on integration, and a strategic partnership is now being considered as an alternative to full membership. Balkan countries, disappointed by this outcome, could turn to homegrown illiberalism.

Throughout the world, military spending is reaching new heights, as countries beef up their defense forces. The trend is evident in the Balkans, where both Russia and NATO plan to build new bases and countries in the region reverse their postwar demilitarization. With Kosovo deciding to create its own army ...

Russia’s pension reform continues to reverberate in domestic politics. For the first time ever, President Vladimir Putin has assumed full personal responsibility for an unpopular decision that directly infringes on the lives of most Russians. The effects are already visible in his slumping popularity and in the startling results of ...

It has become clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reelection means another term in office for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his government. To some, the lack of new faces shows the regime is headed for a period of inertia and stagnation. This view is understandable, but it is wrong.

Given United States President Donald Trump’s praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, European leaders are worried that a deal to normalize relations between the two countries could be in the works, causing upheaval in decades of value-based Western policies. While there is certainly reason for concern, the obstacles to such ...

As the Russian economy moves further into recession, the Kremlin is looking ahead to next year’s parliamentary elections with mounting concern. It fears that growing economic hardship will cause people to turn against the government. Last month’s regional elections showed just how far the authorities are willing to go to ...

The Russian economy relies heavily on oil exports. Although some of its indicators suggest a temporary respite, continued low oil prices would leave Russia trapped with a weakened ruble and spiralling inflation. The consequences for Russia and President Vladimir Putin could be dire. Recent economic data show the Russian e...

The partnership of old rivals, Russia and Turkey, has never been put to a greater test in the Black Sea region than it has since Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. In Turkey, it revived memories of Russia's expansionism, as well as highlighting Ankara's limited capacity to react forcefully. ...

Just over a year has now passed since the tragic downing, on July 17, 2014, of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine. The atrocity triggered a war of sanctions and counter-sanctions between Russia and the West that has since wrought much damage, on trade and on ...

As the Russian economy sustains the dual blows of sanctions and depressed oil prices, consumer spending is down as shoppers feel the pinch. But the heaviest damage is being sustained by manufacturing, especially the automotive industry. With foreign brands scaling down their operations in Russia, the car business is backsliding ...

Russian energy giant Gazprom has landed one of the biggest gas deals in history with China. But the 30-year contract, worth US$400 billion depends on laying thousands of miles of pipelines from new remote gas fields. It raises doubts about the profitability of the bilateral deal and which power emerges ...

Ukraine warns of a 'Great War' with Russia. President Vladimir Putin highlights the federation’s nuclear capabilities. Nato plans a rapid-reaction force capable of deploying quickly to eastern Europe. But Ukraine troops fight on alone. Despite talks of a ceasefire, a major war looms large. The cost to the world of ...

Three river projects in the Balkans have geopolitical importance for the region, its ecosystems, economy, politics and Russia’s role. Serbia remains Russia’s main ally, surrounded by Nato neighbours. But Russian support comes at a price and soon Serbia must choose between the European Union or Russia and between a source ...

Russia controls the natural gas but Ukraine has the bill. US$3.5 billion is owed to Russian energy giant Gazprom. Russia is squeezing Ukraine. It has ended gas price subsidies, is demanding up-front payment, and has threatened to cut gas supplies if bills are not paid. But Ukraine’s economy is already ...

The West’s response to Russia’s moves in Crimea are widely regarded as weakness by Russian foreign policy experts. They perceive that Europe would not impose sanctions which damage its own economies and see Russian President Vladimir Putin as pursuing his Eurasian Union strategy and Ukraine as the key to achieving ...

There is just one Russian university in the list of the world’s top 300. The collapse of funding for higher education has removed Russia from the global exchange of ideas, and its share of world trade in high-tech products stands at about one quarter of one per cent. With China ...

Russia’s government is ‘seizing’ funds from private pensions for investment in a move many analysts perceive as desperate as the Kremlin tries to plug a growing hole in the state’s budget. The government is scrambling to find sources of income to help it fulfill spending pledges made by President Vladimir ...

Growth forecasts for Russia’s economy were scaled down throughout 2013. Negative factors include a steady oil price, corruption, lack of investment, stagnant domestic consumption and a shrinking workforce. Reforms have been discussed for well over a decade, but very little has resulted and Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukaev says the nation ...

Increasing tension between Japan and China over Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea has created an arena for Russia to raise its profile in the region. But an obstacle to a restored Russian presence is its long-standing conflict with Japan over the Kuril islands. There could be grounds ...

Russia’s economic model is exhausted. The country can no longer rely on its economy growing on the back of rising oil prices, warn analysts. Problems that Russia could once afford to ignore will now come to the fore unless the government undertakes structural reforms to increase investment and unlock higher ...

President Vladimir Putin’s hopes and ambitions to see Russia return to take its place among the leading industrialised nations are fading fast as the country heads for recession. ‘Hard decisions’ need to be taken to rein in its spending and cut budgets, according to his Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Russia ...