Russia has grand plans for the Arctic and the world's largest fleet of icebreakers to see them through. However, Moscow lacks the funds to implement its strategy, while its fleet is rapidly aging.
Russia’s failure to provide security or reliable partnership has led local leaders to seek alternatives. Moscow is losing the role of default arbiter, while Turkey, the EU, the United States, and increasingly China fill the space.
Russia suffered a geopolitical setback following Maduro’s fall. More than that, there are lessons to be drawn from Venezuela shake-up: oil (and gas) cannot save an economy, and the regime can survive without its top man.
Russia’s internet is being reshaped from an infrastructure that once served society, the state, and business into an instrument of control.
Why have neither the weight of sanctions nor the scale of losses on the battlefield pushed the Kremlin toward compromise.
Behind the façade of resilience lies a system increasingly driven by asset seizures, political loyalty, and the enrichment of a new elite.
Russia’s closest ally, Belarus, has been increasing its hybrid operations against its EU neighbors, directing migrants towards their borders and closing its eyes to increasingly brazen smuggling. The goal is to cause instability.
A ceasefire would not simply return things to business as usual, as Russia’s wartime economic reorientation and the deep mistrust will complicate any post-war reset.
The budget sends a clear message – Russia is preparing to live, and fight, as a besieged fortress for years to come, even if doing so slowly drains the vitality of its economy and society.
Ukraine faces increasing dependence on Western support. Russia will likely face critical fiscal constraints within 12-24 months. Meanwhile, China, the United States, and some third countries are extracting gains from the conflict.
After the collapse of communist regimes in the early 1990s, the nations of Central and Eastern Europe faced a pivotal choice: embrace Western-style democracy and market economics, or remain in the post-Soviet sphere. Today, more than three decades on, the results of that choice are stark.
More than three decades after the Soviet collapse, the three Baltic nations stand as prosperous democracies firmly anchored in Europe, while neighboring Belarus and Moldova still in Moscow’s orbit to varying degrees. The contrast, though sometimes clouded by nostalgia and disinformation, is stark.
The gap between Russia and the European Union in living standards, wages, and the rule of law seems obvious at first glance. Yet, in today’s world of populism and increasingly sophisticated propaganda, even such basic truths require careful restatement.
The networks, platforms, and services that once promised convenience and openness are now increasingly shaped by state control, geopolitical isolation, and the exodus of skilled talent.
Drones straying over Eastern Europe show that the War in Ukraine is no longer a distant spectacle
For many years, political loyalty to Putin bought access to wealth, security, and impunity. The war shed these privileges, and those who have fallen from grace can no longer even flee into exile.
From the Caucasus to Central Asia and the Baltics, former allies are distancing themselves from Moscow’s orbit, forging new partnerships, and openly challenging the assumptions that once underpinned Russia’s dominance.
As the war in Ukraine drags into its third year, a critical question grows increasingly urgent: how will Russia reintegrate the ever increasing number of citizens who return from the front lines or who have become economically dependent on the war effort?
For many it is a coping mechanism, in some cases it reflects newfound war-related income, in others a switch away from big spending.
Behind the polished facade of Moscow and official statistics lies a federation increasingly fractured—socially, economically, and politically.
Russia’s economy is not yet a wartime economy – but it is drifting dangerously close. Whether it crosses the threshold will depend not just on military needs, but on the political will to sacrifice economic interests for geopolitical ambitions. So far, Moscow has tried to avoid making that choice. But the clock is ticking.
In the short term, Western sanctions have disrupted supply chains and commercial operations. In the long term, they are accelerating Russia's technological decline and external dependence.
Russians are hoping for an easing of sanctions and the return of big Western brands to the Russian market. Is this a real prospect – or simply a collective wish disguised as news?
In today’s Russia, ending the war in Ukraine may bring economic and social turmoil so profound that peace could pose greater risks to Kremlin than the conflict itself.
The share of military expenditures in the GDP of European Union countries is set to rise, bringing Europe back to an era where security was defined not by investments in education or the green economy but by the number of tanks, aircraft, and soldiers.
Official statistics show that Russia's economy is growing despite war and Western sanctions. In fact, economic problems are piling up and Russia risks recession.
Despite being antagonistic to the US, the Kremlin craves Washington’s attention, just as the Soviets and the Tsars did in their time. And Putin suddenly finds common grounds between his regime and Trumpism.
As young Russians are sent to the front or fleeing the country, Russia’s economy needs migrants. But the latter are a target for extremists and populist politicians.
The war in Ukraine is increasing the gap between Russia’s wealthy elites and the majority of the population. There is also a drive to redistribute wealth and channel it towards those loyal to Putin’s regime.
Russia’s civil aviation is facing an unprecedented crisis, as both domestic production and foreign imports are being hampered by sanctions imposed by the West following Ukraine’s invasion.
For the gerontocratic Russia’s leadership, the vision of the future is derived from a mythical “golden past”, but manifesting as escalating corruption, growth in alcohol consumption, resource scarcity, and rising crime.
Belarus has allowed an explosion in smuggling of products like cigarettes, and this policy poses a threat to the security of the European Union.
