Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Farida Rustamova, author of the Vlast newsletter dedicated to Russia’s domestic politics, to discuss the 2026 State Duma elections, what’s new, and what to expect...

For every ruble allocated to social policy, health, and education in 2027, double that amount is earmarked for the army, the police, and the security services.

If the Russian-speaking community in Latvia cannot articulate their interests without being seen as disloyal, they could end up embracing a pro-Kremlin agenda.

Blurring the line between humans and animals is a long-standing tradition in social utopian prose. In his latest novel, Leonid Bershidsky reminds us that in social experiments, people are often treate...

In the tenth year of his presidency, President Mirziyoyev’s system is becoming even more personalized than that of his predecessor Karimov.

Depleted financial reserves and a shrinking tax base mean it is no longer possible to simultaneously deliver high defense spending, price stability, and economic growth.

The war in Ukraine and a change in ownership led VK to neglect its commercial ventures in favor of implementing the Kremlin’s online agenda. Now it’s been sanctioned by the EU.

Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Eva Seiwert, a senior analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, and Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, to discuss the recent...

With the growth in points of friction between the great powers, organizations like the SCO will continue to play a role in the strategic adaptation of the smaller powers caught between them.

With his public call for new elections in Ukraine, ex-defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov has opened Pandora’s box.

Political pressure and economic headwinds are closely intertwined problems for Russian publishers and booksellers. Together, they risk propelling Russia into a “post-literate” era.

The greater threat to Zelensky comes not from Fedorov alone, but from the convergence between his political campaign and the anti-corruption investigations moving ever closer to the presidential admin...

In the discussions made possible by the State Duma election campaign, one question is being asked more and more loudly. “What next?”

The security forces are targeting Arkady and Boris Rotenberg’s patronage network—and in Putin’s Russia, it’s extremely hard to stop a purge once it’s under way.

Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Nate Reynolds, a senior fellow at Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program, to discuss transatlantic security and its future after the recent NATO summit in Ankara.

Whether PAS can refocus on the unfinished business of state-building may ultimately prove more consequential for Moldova’s European future than the pace of its accession negotiations.

Russia looks set to reap economic benefits from closer ties with Southeast Asian countries that are keen to find reliable energy suppliers and diversify trade ties.

Ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East allows Moscow to both increase its influence in Tehran and continue to enjoy the financial windfall of higher oil prices.

If it proves impossible for the Russian authorities to avoid a gasoline deficit, the question then becomes how they will organize the distribution of a scarce resource.

The ruling elites in contemporary Russia are not a political class, but a community of managers who are not subject to competition or public accountability. The state is becoming an operating apparatu...

The issue is not that the president only has selective information at his disposal, but that the decision-making process consists of one person with an unshakeable vision of how the world works.

By fueling the arguments of both supporters and opponents of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijan wants to ensure he is re-elected with a weaker mandate.

A much-discussed disagreement over internet restrictions in Russia was never an existential threat for Putin: It was about elite groups protecting their interests.

By reminding the world that Lukashenko is a threat to NATO and Ukraine, Kyiv is trying to return the focus to why the Belarusian regime needs to be contained rather than rewarded.

The demands of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, demographic problems, and public hostility toward Central Asians mean Russia does not have enough workers.

The truth is that Japan’s government is seeking a degree of reengagement but at a vastly reduced level than under Abe. Most significantly, Japan has shown no willingness to ease sanctions.

With no key agreement signed on the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, there is a risk that the window of opportunity for Russia will close if Chinese power generation becomes so green that new gas sour...

Though Orban is gone, Putin can still count on some like-minded individuals in Central and Eastern Europe. However, they will seek to avoid open confrontation with EU institutions over Ukraine and the...

Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Yanmei Xie, a senior associate fellow at Mercator Insitute for China Studies, to discuss Putin’s visit to Beijing, how China is navigating its relationship with R...

Azerbaijan’s relations with the EU appear to be going from strength to strength after several years in the deep freeze following the military escalation in Karabakh in 2023 and Azerbaijan’s bitter fal...

Governments in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania want to ensure that a U.S. military withdrawal would not leave them dangerously exposed to a Russian attack.

Tokyo would have to surmount a lot of obstacles—not least Western sanctions—if it wanted to return Russian oil imports to even modest pre-2022 volumes.

The cost of air defense has become an unregistered tax on revenue for businesses. While military rents are consolidated in the federal budget, the costs of defense are being spread across the balance ...

Baku’s backing for Ukraine is less about confronting Russia than about quietly broadening the mix of partners it relies on.

The Russian regime is now visibly motivated by fear.

Podcast host Alexander Gabuev is joined by Carolina Drüten, security correspondent for Die Welt, and Joseph Verbovszky, co-director of the German Wargaming Center, to discuss the first public wargame ...

The return of parliamentary politics reflects a broader shift from earlier expectations of a settlement and elections toward the reality of a prolonged war.

It’s true that many Armenians would vote for anyone just to be rid of Pashinyan, whom they blame for the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, but the pro-Russia opposition is unlikely to be able to channel that ...

The Russian leadership wants to avoid a dangerous precedent in which it is squeezed out of Iran by the United States and Israel—and left powerless to respond in any meaningful way.

Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Balázs Jarábik, author of the Essential Ukraine newsletter and founder of Minority Report Consulting, and Maksim Samorukov, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasi...

Although Ukrainian strikes have led to a noticeable decline in the physical volume of Russian oil exports, the rise in prices has more than made up for it.

After four years of war, there is no one who can stand up to the security establishment, and President Vladimir Putin is increasingly passive.

The prospect of a total block on Russia’s most popular messaging app has sparked disagreement between the regime’s political managers and its security agencies.

Orbán created an image for himself as virtually the only opponent of aid to Ukraine in the entire EU. But in reality, he was simply willing to use his veto to absorb all the backlash, allowing other o...

Despite having the resources and expertise, the Russian space industry missed the opportunity to offer the United States or China a mutually rewarding partnership in the lunar race.

Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Rose Gottemoeller, a lecturer at Stanford University, former Deputy Secretary General of NATO, and author of the forthcoming book Security Through Cooperation: Space, Nuclear Weapons, and US-Russia Relations After the Cold War, to discuss the prospects of strategic arms control between the United States and Russia.