Of course, I understand what you write about the sorry state of affairs in Russia. I am far more optimistic than you about Russia, but can't disagree with most of what you say.  Most discouraging is that I wonder what can feed the hopes of your generation, on which the future of the country depends.  Of course, there is much about Russia…

Canada’s next federal election is this year. It will most likely be held in October 2015. The current Conservative government is hoping to retain its majority through the manipulation of the Ukrainian/Canadian voting base in western Canada by support the Ukraine. The next federal election could be an historic first with a three-way battle…

 Russia and its Arctic Neighbours: After Crimea 
 
Russia’s internationally condemned annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula changed not only international perceptions of Russia’s ambitions, but those in the country itself as well. With supporters proudly proclaiming, “Крым наш!” (“Crimea…

In the aftermath of Western sanctions on Ukraine, many analysts have predicted that Russia will reorient its economy away from the West, with which it has profitably traded energy in exchange for investment and consumer goods, toward the East, toward China above all.
 
There are some signs that economies ties between Russia and China are…

The purpose of this article is to examine Norway’s initiative of creating a Nordic Defense Alliance in the Arctic and the consequences it may have for Russia and Arctic cooperation. Author: Elodie Testa, Research Intern at RIAC, graduate student at MGIMO-University   It is a well-established fact that the Arctic region is undergoing…

Author: Andrei Baikov, PhD in Political Science, Associate Professor, Editor-in-Chief of the International Trends journal
Reflections in the footsteps of Victoria Nuland’s Transcaucasia tour
For several days now, the Russian media has been abuzz over what one journalist dubbed the “explosive” tour of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia taken by…

Things change a lot. Permanence of the statuesque is beyond possibility. At least, Sindh is changing; if not Pakistan. Much has been discussed about the fall and gradually decline of Pakistan; however we have to watch calculatedly the every step of its decline.  At least three new major scenarios and one old scenario have recently developed:…

This piece was originally published on Russia Beyond the Headlines. 
 
With the recent confrontation over Ukraine and the attendant sanctions giving it little room for economic manoeuver with the West, Moscow is pivoting to the east and pursuing a policy of expanding commercial ties with Asia. However, with territorial disputes in the…

Seen at least from the perspective of East Asia, the Russian Far East (RFE) is very much the odd man out when it comes to the regional economic miracle of the last generation. There are multiple reasons for the RFE having largely missed this boat, but it cannot be put down merely to the legacy of Socialism, for Heilongjiang across the border has…

Smarter “Smokestack Industries” are essential to the future.
Considered to be developing economies in the “global governance” set-up, Russia and the BRICS know that traditional mainstream media and online propaganda vehicles driven by the “PR is the new journalism” mindset dismiss the reality that iron ore and…

The Eurasia Initiative and the Korean-Russian Gas Pipeline Project
 
More than a year has passed since the administration of President Park Geun-hye announced the Eurasia Initiative. Both concerns and hopes have been expressed on the subject. The Eurasia Initiative aspires to create an amicable international atmosphere for the reunification of…

The murder of Boris Nemtsov, Russia’s leading opposition leader,  might be a turning point in Russia’s history. It is a major blow to Russia’s democratic movement and to those who supported a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.   The man who died in a carefully planned,  mafia- style killing 200 meters…