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However President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s second term develops, there is no point in expecting Uzbekistan to transform into a liberal democracy.
Tajikistan has no intention of getting into a direct confrontation with the Taliban. Rather, by taking a few more risks than its neighbors, the Tajik leadership is counting on boosting its popularity, both at home and abroad.
How much additional gas is required to stabilize the European market, and are Russia and other key suppliers able to provide it?
After NATO expelled Russian officers and cut the mission’s size, Russia announced it will pull its diplomatic mission to NATO entirely. Why did Moscow reach this decision?
The path of career progression within the power vertical has stopped being predictable, and has turned into a labyrinth with no windows of opportunity offered by reshuffles.
The right approach would probably be to create a special interagency coordinator under a senior official reporting directly to the head of state. It is vitally important that whoever heads the office is well respected by international partners: a worthy counterpart to the likes of John Kerry of the United States.
In a world increasingly shaped by U.S.-Chinese superpower rivalry, Russia seeks to maintain an equilibrium, though not equidistance, vis-à-vis China, America, and their rivalry.
Expanding the modest elements of trust in the Japan-Russia relationship, talking through reciprocal concerns before they lead to conflict, avoiding bilateral incidents, and engaging in mutually beneficial economic cooperation is the way forward.
China’s energy infrastructure is simply not yet ready for Beijing’s concerted efforts to curb emissions, which opens up new opportunities for Russian hydrocarbon exporters.
The prompt stabilization of the European gas market is not only in the interests of collapsing European companies, but of Gazprom, too.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to someone who personifies freedom of speech: something that is crucial to prevent Navalny from remaining in an information vacuum, and therefore without public protection.
Seen from Moscow, Angela Merkel’s long tenure was a period of relative, if not always palatable, predictability in German-Russian relations. The future of the relationship will depend in no small measure on who succeeds her and how skilled that successor is at the art of statecraft. Merkel is leaving behind very big shoes to fill.
For the in-system political parties, the presidential administration simply sets some general ground rules. For the new administrative parties, the presidential administration is not just an overseer, but their immediate boss.
Decisions made by NATO may be unpalatable for Moscow, but they are generally consistent and predictable. The same cannot be said of structures such as AUKUS.
Podcast host Alexander Gabuev is joined by Elizaveta Fokht, a reporter with the BBC Russian Service, and Andrew Roth, Moscow correspondent for The Guardian, to discuss the outcome of the recent elections for the State Duma.
The State Duma elections were a triumph for Sergei Kiriyenko’s electoral machine, though even it could not produce the figures that President Putin’s campaign should have warranted.
Putting too much pressure on Belarus right now could backfire and lead to unforeseen consequences. It would appear that Russia understands that, and is therefore playing the long game on integration.
The upcoming Duma elections could turn out to be United Russia’s farewell tour in its current lineup.
The authorities are faced with the fiendish task of convincing democratic-minded voters that there is no point in voting, while making every effort to boost turnout among the conformist, state-dependent electorate.
It’s unlikely that Zelensky seriously believed that his sharp rhetoric with Merkel and Biden would lead to the West accepting Ukraine into NATO or canceling Nord Stream 2. But his behavior strikes a chord with the public at home.