RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS
Analysts
Alexei Panin
Co-Managing Director, Urus Advisory
Alex Teddy
Co-Managing Director, Urus AdvisoryRecent Country Insights
Maia Sandu wins on 2nd round of the Presidential election in Moldova
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 10 Nov 2024
- Sandu wins 2nd round thanks to votes from abroad - Stoianoglo won in most districts inside Moldova - The country remains highly divided as it reinforces its pro-EU path On November 3, 2024, Moldova re-elected President Maia Sandu with 55% of the vote in the second round of the controversial pre...
Bulgaria holds 7th election in three years as the Russia question divides the electorate
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · Report · 05 Nov 2024
Bulgaria’s 7th election in the last three years has not yielded drastically different results from the last election in June, and a hung parliament is still likely, with some parties holding pro-Russian views. Bulgarian companies have been sanctioned for supporting Russia’s military, as Bulgaria'...
Essential CIS Politics: November 2024
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · Report · 01 Nov 2024
-Russia continues a steady advance along the front. -Ukraine makes bold pronouncements on victory plans. -North Korean troops are alleged to be readied for war in Ukraine. -BRICS summit is held in Russia with many world leaders in attendance. -Moldova and Georgia hold bitt...
BRICS Summit in Kazan to show Russia is not isolated
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · Report · 25 Oct 2024
On October 22-24, the BRICS annual summit took place in Russia’s fifth largest city, Kazan. This is the capital of Tatarstan, a Russian region that is a homeland for the Tatar indigenous ethnic group, whose main religion is Sunni Islam. There was a tight security cordon in Kazan, obliging schools...
Moldovan presidential election and EU referendum analysis
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · Report · 23 Oct 2024
Moldova has been labelled by observers a “geopolitical swing State”, at the crossroads between the West and Russia. Last weekend’s events confirmed there is a clear social divide over the future of this small former Soviet Republic bordering Ukraine, which constitutes another less-known scenario ...
Ukraine accuses North Korea of sending troops to Ukraine—North Korean-Russian relations in focus
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · Report · 18 Oct 2024
Over the past few weeks, Ukraine and its Western allies have alleged on numerous occasions at all levels that North Korea is sending combat troops to fight in Ukraine. While these claims have not been substantiated, Russian and North Korean relations have been deepening ever since the start of th...
CIS heads of state meeting in Moscow on Putin’s birthday
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 11 Oct 2024
On October 7, the leaders of the CIS countries gathered in Novo-Ogaryovo, the suburban residence of the Russian President in Moscow Oblast to meet and celebrate Vladimir Putin’s 72nd birthday. The CIS, or Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional intergovernmental organization led by Russi...
Essential CIS Politics: October 2024
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · Report · 01 Oct 2024
* Putin announces change in Russian nuclear doctrine. * Russia’s relationship with Iran gets complicated. * Russian troops entered Vuhledar as Ukraine seeks aid in the US. * Armenia claims it thwarted a coup attempt. * Azerbaijan holds elections—including in Nagorno-K...
South Caucasus in flux
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · Report · 30 Sep 2024
Across the Caucasus, the center of gravity has been reshaped by events in the last few decades. Soviet-era political and economic ties have been substituted by multipolar, international ones. But, suddenly, in recent months, countries in the region are being drawn quickly in different directions ...