… Russia’s power and behavior have drawn increasing attention from policymakers, journalists and scholars. … fuel[ing] discussion and debate surrounding Russia’s capabilities and its government’s aims […]
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Almost half of Russians blame the U.S. and its NATO allies for the escalation of tensions in eastern Ukraine, according to … a [Levada Center] poll […]
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“The battle over natural gas: Worsening relations between Europe and Russia are reflected in tensions over energy, in which US demands, Russian and German interests, the EU’s neoliberal doctrine and the climate emergency all play a part.” “… The Russia-Ukraine conflict … the Nord Stream 2 pipeline … and tensions … over offshore reserves near Cyprus, have put natural gas […]
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“… [Amidst] Putin’s multi-year push to reduce Russia’s exposure to the dollar … [Russian] exports sold in [dollars] fell below 50% for the first time[,] [m]ost of the [impact] … [coming] from Russia’s trade with China, more than three-quarters of which is now conducted in euros, according to central bank data …. Multiple rounds of sanctions and the constant threat […]
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The [EU] has dismissed Russian authorities’ labeling of Latvia-based independent news outlet Meduza as a “foreign agent” and urged Moscow to end its “systematic infringement” of basic rights and freedoms […]
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“… [T]he world is becoming a more dangerous place by the day. The hottest current spot is Russia’s border with Ukraine and the Black Sea, where the Kremlin has amassed more forces than any time since its invasion of the Donbass …. Putin’s ambitions aren’t clear, though some think he wants to control the entire Black Sea coast, further squeezing […]
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EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell has assured the Ukrainian government of “unwavering EU support” in the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country […]
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Moscow is busy highlighting the northern sea route and Nordstream as alternatives for world trade […]
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The Kremlin wants to use the grounding of the Ever Given ship to promote its Northern Sea Route and counter European concerns over Nord Stream 2. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jake Cordell – March 26, 2021) Almost $300 million worth of Russian oil products are waiting to enter the Suez Canal, which remains closed following the grounding of the […]
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The current fight to identify “who is fascist” is a struggle to define the future of Europe and whether or not Russia has a legitimate role to play in it […]
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“As a dictator, … Putin has continued what he failed to do as a KGB agent in the GDR [East Germany] … his fight against a freedom-loving Germany and a united Europe. For years, Putin has been running riot with impunity in [Germany]. … buying off influential ex-politicians with lucrative oil projects, such as Nord Stream 2. … support[ing] the […]
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“… Russia[] Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) [head] Kirill Dmitriev … [announced] ‘agreements with companies from Italy, Spain, France and Germany to launch … Sputnik V [production]’ … allow[ing] … Sputnik [vaccine supplies] to the European market ‘once … approval is granted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).’ If approved Sputnik would become the first non-Western coronavirus [vaccine] … certified for […]
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“The U.S. and U.K. [reportedly] are weighing additional penalties against Russia over the use of chemical weapons, … from sanctions against oligarchs to the extreme step of targeting the nation’s sovereign debt. … The U.S. is expected to … adhere to a 1991 chemical weapons law and [reportedly] follow-up with … more extensive … sanctions unless Russia meets certain conditions […]
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The Russian ruble and government bonds sank … on reports that the U.S. and U.K. are considering a second round of tough sanctions … over the poisoning and jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny […]
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MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) – Ex-Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev said in an interview with Interfax he believes Moscow and Brussels may overcome the current crisis in relations. Speaking of Europe’s reluctance to establish relations with Russia, Gorbachev said, “They all are reluctant at first. It has always been this way. And afterwards, after they sit down at the negotiating […]
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The use of targeted sanctions has been arguably the central response of U.S. foreign policy against Russia since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 […]
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“The Biden administration has to decide whether to alienate Germany … continuing … Trump administration[] sanctions on companies building Germany’s gas pipeline from Russia. … Hundreds of feet below the surface of the Baltic Sea is an enormously long pipeline, snaking from northern Russia to Germany. … Nord Stream 2 … [would] roughly double Europe’s energy supply when … finished. […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Ingrid Burke – Feb. 19, 2021) Ingrid Burke is a fellow at Harvard’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. As President Joe Biden settles into the Oval Office, he has filled the upper echelons of his new administration with officials who have vocally supported sanctions against Russia. While it is difficult to predict specific […]
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Russia’s gas giant Gazprom plans to commission the controversial natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 this year, … TASS reported […]
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(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, Feb. 13, 2021) One of the paradoxes of relations between Russia and the West is that when Russian actions at home or abroad prompt Western governments to react by seeking to impose penalties on Moscow, those penalties only make it easier for the Kremlin to repress its population at home, Vladislav Inozemtsev […]
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Russia’s gas exports to Europe hit a record high in January, according to … VTB Capital, as pressure over … Nord Stream 2 … continues to mount […]
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… The U.S. imposed sanctions at the end of 2019 in an effort to halt the construction of the pipeline, which will transport Russian gas to Europe […]
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“Sweden has overturned decades of its own defense and foreign policy to strengthen its military and tighten ties with the U.S.” “Wooden targets hide among … pine trees at the Gotland island army firing range … depicting foreign invaders … faces twisted with malice. … [with] no unit insignia, no flag patches. … Swedish army recruits peppering the targets with […]
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“… Merkel and … Putin have discussed the possibility of making a controversial Russian vaccine in the EU as bottlenecks in supply slow down [some] [European] inoculation [efforts] …. but only [after] … Sputnik V … [is] authorised by the EU medicines regulator. … [which] could take several months … [I]t is thought … the vaccine has yet to be […]
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We asked 10 experts to predict what Russia has in store for the world next year. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Pjotr Sauer – Jan. 4, 2021) Russia had to tread a fine foreign policy line in 2020. The country’s near abroad was rocked by unprecedented unrest as uprisings in Kremlin-friendly Kyrgyzstan and Belarus and war in the Caucasus challenged […]
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(The Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Robert M. Cutler – Jan. 5, 2021) Robert M. Cutler is a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a Practitioner Member of the Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation, the University of Waterloo The Second Karabakh War has revealed the intellectual bankruptcy of the West’s penchant for grand strategic thinking, which stereotypes […]
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“… [In] 2020 … Putin took bold moves to cement … power at home and extend … nearly two decades in power, a likely bellwether for [2021], when … [he] could squelch remaining domestic opposition and reinforce … influence abroad. … [D]issent has simmered. Massive protests in the Far East … over the arrest of a popular regional governor quickly […]
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(Oilprice.com – Tsvetana Paraskova – Dec. 21, 2020) The widening U.S. sanctions on the Russia-led natural gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2 are a kind of hybrid warfare used by the United States, Vladimir Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. “This is indeed a variant of hybrid warfare, it is used as a hybrid war by the United […]
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… Russian corporations have lost almost $100 billion since sanctions were imposed … following the annexation of Crimea … equivalent to about 4.2 percent of the country’s economy [then] […]
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Those … angry at … Putin and his failures at home and abroad are not necessarily pro-Western, Kseniya Kirillova says […]
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… The authors of the address added that, if these bills are passed, it will become far more challenging to organize rallies, demonstrations, processions, and pickets […]
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… The growing gap between the official Russian discourse and the prevalent perceptions in its neighborhood has become painfully evident […]
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“Moldova’s pro-European election winner Maia Sandu … vowed balanced ties with the West and Russia as Moscow-backed incumbent Igor Dodon conceded … and asked … supporters to refrain from violence. Sandu’s election is … as a major blow to the Kremlin[,] …. [that] wanted polarized Moldova to remain in its sphere of influence …[P]olitics in Moldova[,] … [located between Ukraine […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, Oct. 28, 2020) Vladimir Putin’s conviction that he could force the West to cooperate with him by aggressive actions against it has generated unintended consequences for the Kremlin both abroad, where the West has united against Russia, and at home, where some believe Putin isn’t being aggressive enough, Liliya Shevtsova says. The […]
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“NATO rejected previous proposals by Moscow to freeze deployment in western regions.” “Russia has offered to stop deployment of a controversial missile system in an attempt to restart talks on arms control in Europe following the collapse of a cold war moratorium, in the latest outreach by the Kremlin that could de-escalate military tensions. Donald Trump’s administration withdrew from the […]
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“New measures target companies that would provide services or funding for vessels working on Nord Stream 2” “… [2019] U.S. Sanctions … focused on pipe-laying vessels for Nord Stream 2 and halted the $10.5 billion [natural gas] pipeline[,] … designed to transmit Russian gas to Germany, 100 miles short … beneath the Baltic Sea. … [A] State Department [web announcement] […]
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“… As Russia’s interests abroad have focused on building the country’s standing as a player on the global stage – including malicious operations such as trying to influence U.S. presidential elections – the Kremlin’s grip has weakened closer to home. Competition from Turkey, China and the West is increasingly challenging Moscow’s onetime dominance in the former Soviet space. … [and] […]
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“Washington has watched Russia expand its global influence, but along its borders, Moscow is losing its monopoly on power.” “… Putin has long tried to strengthen economic and defense relations across Eastern Europe and Central Asia …. Russia still has military bases in Central Asia and the South Caucasus … [T]here are strong commercial and cultural ties …. But … […]
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Denmark cleared … the final hurdle to Nord Stream 2 potentially starting operations in Danish waters, while the U.S. continues its attempt to stop the Russia-led natural gas pipeline project […]
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(Oilprice.com – Vanand Meliksetian – Sept. 24, 2020) The ongoing demonstrations in Belarus and the looming instability are a threat to both Russia and the EU. Moscow prefers the continuation of Lukashenko’s regime due to political reasons. Europe, on the other hand, faces an energy crisis if the situation escalates which could lead to a disruption of supplies. Belarus’ geographic […]
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“Myth #1: Russia’s grand strategy is driven by ideology …. Myth #2: Russia seeks to reconstruct the Soviet Union or Russian Empire. … Instead of a formal territorial empire … Russia endeavors to establish a privileged and exclusive sphere of influence across former Soviet territory. … [with] a seat at the table in the capital of every post-Soviet country. … […]
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Russia’s Interior Ministry wants to question … Navalny in Berlin, where he is being treated after German doctors reported “unequivocal evidence” … he was poisoned with … military-grade nerve agent Novichok, contradicting … Russian counterparts who said they … found no trace of poison […]
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“[G7] [f]oreign ministers … issued a joint statement … condemning … ‘the confirmed poisoning’ of … Navalny. … sa[ying] Germany … has concluded … he was ‘the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve-agent of the “Novichok” group, a substance developed by Russia.’ It called on Russia to investigate who is responsible, ‘bearing in mind Russia’s commitments under the […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, Sept. 7, 2020) Despite Kremlin actions like the Navalny poisoning, Western governments have largely limited themselves to tough public statements rather than serious actions, the reflection of a combination of circumstances that Western officials are generally unwilling to recognize, Liliya Shevtsova says. First of all, the Russian commentator points out, liberal democracies […]
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Looming U.S. elections and disparate EU interests could translate into a symbolic response. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jake Cordell – Sept. 4, 2020) Lawmakers across Europe and the U.S. are scrambling to respond to the revelation that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok – a lethal Soviet-era military nerve agent – with the possibility of fresh sanctions […]
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“… Putin keeps defying the norms of international behavior. … Intelligence agencies have … evidence … Russian military intelligence officers, from … shadowy Unit 29155 of the GRU, paid … Taliban … whose bombing killed three U.S. Marines in … 2019. … [S]ources … [claim] forensic links between the [Afghan operation] GRU officers … and GRU colleagues who carried out […]
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“Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is close to the finish line – but might be closer to finished as a viable project, after one of the companies involved in laying the pipe on the Baltic seafloor said … it would withdraw …. For years, the United States has tried to kill off Russia’s latest effort to strengthen its […]
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… Russia also closed its borders to most foreign citizens, with exceptions for diplomats, relatives of deceased people, high-demand workers and other categories […]
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… the Germany case study [from] an ambitious year-long CSIS initiative to analyze Russian influence activities […]
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It’s always great when something you write receives a thoughtful response, but I did feel I needed make a couple of responses to Nicolai Petro’s open reply to my short commentary in The Spectator […]
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