After his record landslide victory on 18 March, Russian President Vladimir Putin likely knows he cannot rest on his laurels. With oil prices unlikely to rise anytime soon, national economic stagnation, a still heavily State-and-oligarch-controlled economy and an ever-growing shadow of confrontation with the West, Putin has his work cut out for the next six […]
Reports from Russian announced that Vladimir Putin won over 76% of the votes in his reelection bid March 18, with turnout over 67%. The view from Siberia was a little different. OSCE, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, sent nearly 600 short-term, long-term, and other election observers to Russia. In its next-day report, […]
Russia had a bigly moment recently when announcing their new invincible weapons systems that use new nuclear propulsion systems and travel at hypersonic speeds. The claim that these weapons are unable to be intercepted by modern air defense systems could likely be true. Beyond the testing of American THAAD interceptor systems, there are no extremely […]
There’s a scene in the 2007 film Charlie Wilson’s War when the titular character, a congressman played by Tom Hanks, tries to make a case to his congressional peers. He wants to allocate one million dollars toward building a school in Afghanistan, as a way for the United States to combat Soviet propaganda in the […]
The Russian economy returned to growth in 2017 after several years of recession. However, there are still major challenges ahead, including the need for budget reform, a financial sector overhaul, and the risk of sanctions. Natalia Orlova, Chief Economist and Head of Macro Insights at Alfa Bank, offers her expert view on these issues to GRI’s Michael […]
Allow me to make two observations before I turn to my remarks. The Mission statement of the Forum’s website asks that we be honest and direct. And so, although I do not wish to appear overly harsh in my observations, nevertheless I am obliged to be frank and open. Otherwise, why have a conference such […]
The proposed UN peacekeeping mission to Ukraine needs a combination of Western sticks and carrots. Diplomacy is not enough.
The last year has seen a period of deadlock in Eastern Ukraine. As the armed conflict continues into 2018 amid fruitless attempts to reach a stable ceasefire, should we expect a flare-up in the Donbass region? Permanent ceasefire remains beyond reach The progress on Minsk II – the key agreement that was supposed to put […]
The last year has seen a period of deadlock in Eastern Ukraine, as the armed conflict continues into 2018 amid fruitless attempts to reach a stable ceasefire. But as new factors emerge, should we expect a flare-up in the Donbass region? Permanent ceasefire remains beyond reach The progress on Minsk II – the key agreement […]
The recent Russian rejection of an American initiative at the UN Security Council for the world community to express solidarity with the Iranian protesters in the face of the Islamist regime’s brutalities did not come as a surprise. In fact, given the history of Russia’s imperialistic behavior towards Iran, the rejection came as a natural […]
Russia’s recent bailout of two major banks will cost the country billions of rubles. But the future of the Russian banking system, and its impact on the nation’s economy, is still uncertain. Russia is finally emerging from a serious recession, with growth predicted for 2018. However, the recent rescue of B&N Bank and Otkritie Bank highlighted […]
Nearly eclipsing the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the Euromaidan protests last Tuesday was the latest in the ongoing scandal surrounding former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. According to newly released records, the beleaguered political consultant traveled to Moscow at least 18 times during his nearly decade’s worth of work for the pro-Russian politician […]
One of the most iconic tools for bringing down the Soviet Union was the distribution of information from the West and the promotion of an anti-Soviet narrative that was forbidden behind the Iron Curtain. In societies where the control of information was a necessity to controlling the narrative and beliefs of a society, challenging the […]
The Islamic Military Alliance (IMAFT) that was given support by Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia on May 21st, is not only a direct security threat to the European Union, as explained in my previous text, but also a disruption of regional balance. This is very evident in the current crisis around Qatar where Saudi Arabia […]
Oil, energy, banking, aerospace, auto and manufacturing industries are lobbying against Russia sanctions legislation going through Congress.