Russia/Eurasia Center
Founded in 2005 within Ifri, the Russia/Eurasia Center conducts research and organizes debates on Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus. Its goal is to understand and anticipate the evolution of this complex and rapidly changing geographical area in order to enrich public discourse in France and Europe and to assist in strategic, political, and economic decision-making.
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Director of the Russia/Eurasia Center, Ifri
Publications
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Titre Bloc Axe
Research Areas
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Titre Axe de recherche
Russian Economy and Society
The Economy and Society research axis within Ifri's Russia/Eurasia Center is interested in economic questions including the impact of Western sanctions on the Russian economy as well as the evolution of society (demography , middle classes, youth, education, opposition, militarization, protest movements, etc.).
Titre Axe de recherche
Russian Domestic Politics
The Domestic Politics research axis within Ifri's Russia/Eurasia Center analyzes Russian domestic politics, the evolution of the political system and its elites, as well as their relations with society.
Titre Axe de recherche
Russian Foreign Policy and Defense
The Foreign Policy and Defense research axis within Ifri's Russia/Eurasia Center examines Russia's relations with the former Soviet republics and the rest of the world, particularly the West and China. A specific importance is given to defense and security issues.
Titre Axe de recherche
Eurasia
The Eurasia research axis within Ifri's Russia/Eurasia Center analyzes internal developments in Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as their relations with the Russian Federation and other regional and global powers.
Publications
Commanders of Putin's Long War: Purged, Reshuffled and Disgruntled
The trend of reshuffling the Russian top military command in the course of a fast-evolving and far from successful war has progressed unevenly both across the Armed Forces’ structures and in time. The rationale for and timing of the abrupt cadre decisions made by Commander-in-Chief Putin often defy logical explanation, and the rare official clarifications are no more informative than the usual information blackout.
Russian Military Manpower After Two and a Half Years of War in Ukraine
In addition to a military victory in Ukraine, the Russian leadership is planning to build up sizable troop formations for a possible conflict with NATO in the Baltic region and the Kola Peninsula. In particular, current plans aim for the military manpower to grow by about 350,000, reaching a total of 1.5 million soldiers and commanders. In the context of the current conflict in Ukraine, this cannot be accomplished without a new wave of mass mobilization.
Moldova’s Foreign Policy after 2024 Presidential Elections: Staying on the EU Path, Moving Eastwards or Becoming Multi-vector?
The future of Moldova’s foreign agenda will undergo a stress test during the upcoming presidential elections on October 20, 2024.
Russian Strategic Thinking and Culture Before and After February 24, 2022: Political-Strategic Aspects
Written by Dimitri Minic, the scientific article "Russian Strategic Thinking and Culture Before and After February 24, 2022: Political-Strategic Aspects" in Russia’s war against Ukraine: Complexity of Contemporary Clausewitzian War by the National Defence University Department of Warfare, Helsinki 2024.
Russia and the New BRICS Countries: Potentials and Limitations of a Scientific and Technological Cooperation
At the fifteenth BRICS summit, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 22 to 24, 2023, a resolution was adopted to extend an invitation to six new countries to join the organization: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). All of these countries except Argentina duly became members of BRICS in 2024, with the expanded group known as BRICS+. In addition to the political and economic advantages, it is assumed that the incorporation of these new countries could potentially facilitate their scientific and technological development.
The South Caucasus: A New Strategic Space?
The states of the South Caucasus are trying to find their footing in an increasingly fragmented international landscape.
Russia in the Arctic: The End of Illusions and the Emergence of Strategic Realignments
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has triggered profound changes in the Arctic region, the consequences of which remain uncertain in the long term.
Between Aspiration and Reality: Russia in the World (Dis)order
The world has rarely seemed more disorderly than it is today. But in this anarchic environment, some things are constant.
The New Russian Diaspora: Europe’s Challenge and Opportunity
This report assesses both the scale and the roots of the outward migration from the Russian Federation coinciding with Putin’s turning of Russia into an aggressive authoritarian state.
Islam, politique et société en Ouzbékistan. Enquête sur le renouveau religieux de la jeunesse ouzbèke
This study aims to decipher the complex relationships between politics, Islam, and society in Uzbekistan and, more specifically, the dynamics at work in the religious revival of Uzbek youth.