Russia
Russia is asserting itself as an imperial power. Isolated since its invasion of Ukraine, it is seeking to strengthen its ties with non-Western countries. At home, Vladimir Putin's regime is hardening.
Related Subjects


As fighting rages, can Russia forge a peace in Syria?
Nearly two and a half years after the Russian military began an intensive bombing campaign in Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia is struggling to engineer a political solution in the war-ravaged country, analysts say.
The Gazprom-Naftogaz Stockholm Arbitration Awards: Time for Settlements and Responsible Behaviour
The signing in January 2009 of the gas supply and transit contracts between Gazprom and Naftogaz marked a turning point in Russian-Ukrainian gas relations: yearly intergovernmental, last minute and non-transparent winter deals were replaced by a predictable, long term commercial relationship.
Putinism: A Praetorian System?
Almost 20 years after Vladimir Putin's accession to the presidency in 2000, how should the Russian political system be defined?

Missiles of March: A political means of last resort for Putin
President Vladimir Putin’s extra-heavy emphasis on new strategic missile systems in his March 1 address to parliament was quite unexpected and rather out of character.

Russia's election interference has undermined American democracy
In January 2017, U.S. intelligence agencies confirmed that Russia had indeed attempted to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election campaign. This effort took two forms: on the one hand, beginning in the Summer of 2016, the hacking and publication of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails, in order to hurt the Democratic candidacy; and on the other hand, an aggressive communication campaign aimed at disrupting the electoral process in favor of Donald Trump.

100 years after independence from Moscow, Finland anchored firmly to West
HELSINKI (AFP) - A century after gaining independence from its powerful neighbour Russia, Finland continues to consolidate its ties to the West, as tensions flare between Moscow and the West. Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and an uptick in military activity in the Baltic region have tested Finnish-Russian relations, painstakingly maintained over the years with scrupulous diplomatic efforts.

Russia–Saudi Arabia. King Salman's Visit to Moscow: New Axis or Window Dressing?
King Salman received at the Kremlin with his 1,000-strong delegation, including 100 businessmen. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud's official visit to Moscow is the first visit to Russia for a Saudi head of state. Can this visit be seen as the signal of a shift in the region or is it just window dressing?

RAMSES 2018. Will the Information War Take Place?
RAMSES 2018. Will the Information War Take Place?, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of global geopolitics.
What Forecast for Crimea?
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the peninsula’s demographics have changed. Thousands have left and new arrivals – Ukrainians fleeing conflict in the east of their country and Russians – have moved in.
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