Today’s proximity between Beijing and Moscow is not a coincidence but a deliberate political choice, underpinned by economic complementarity and a shared anti-Western lens.
The leaders of China, Russia and India appeared before the press holding hands and pledging deeper cooperation—a gesture aimed not only at participants of the gathering but also at Washington.
Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius publicly poured cold water on talk of a hypothetical EU deployment to police a cease-fire in Ukraine.
At the SCO summit in Tianjin, Chinese leader Xi Jinping cast Beijing as a defender of “justice and fairness.”
In the face of a chronic labor shortage, officials are opting for ever tougher yet largely ineffective measures.
New RAS research finds a “limited-consumption” majority underpinning Russia’s stability: state-paid wages and easy credit secure loyalty, while appetite for reform and growth wanes.
The effort to establish a dedicated Unmanned Systems branch within Russia’s Armed Forces is sputtering. The deadline Defense Minister Andrei Belousov set for standing up an independent service by the third quarter of 2025 now appears likely to slip.
According to the latest Levada Center poll, feelings of national pride and identity have risen markedly in recent years.
Even if President Donald Trump periodically signals a readiness to allow Kyiv to strike targets on Russian territory, Ukraine’s room for maneuver remains limited.
As Le Monde notes, even a hypothetical mention of a potential role for the German army in security guarantees for Ukraine instantly split a country steeped in a pacifist political culture.
Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, should first pass the state examinations required for judicial status before seeking the post of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a retired federal judge said.
At a recent meeting with cabinet members, President Vladimir Putin forcefully raised the need to normalize monetary policy and secure industrial growth.
For many months now, there has been ongoing debate about what awaits Russia after the end of the “special military operation” (SMO) and, more broadly, after the eventual departure of President Putin.
As Der Spiegel points out, the American leader does not fully grasp the essence of the conflict: the Kremlin is pursuing very different goals and continues to create brutal “facts on the ground” in Ukraine.
