Russian energy giant Gazprom saw its profits drop by 70% in 2014. The drop is doubtless due to the sharp drop in the value of the Russian ruble, low oil prices and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Gazprom has been at the center of the conflict in the Ukraine, as its supply of natural gas…
Russia is playing host to a gathering of approximately 150 politicians from Europe’s far right. The event, held in St. Petersburg, is being attended by 12 different European parties, including members of Greece’s Golden Dawn and Germany’s National Democratic Party. Both parties have praised Russia’s adherence to “traditional values” and seemingly adopted the belief that…
Reports that Russian arms are still flowing into Ukraine with no interruption cast doubts on how effective the Minsk II Accords will be at keeping peace official. Unofficially, fighting still rages around the Donetsk airport and Mauripol and many senior military officials from NATO have made public statements that Moscow continues to provide aid and…
Russia has officially ruled out withdrawing from Crimea and gifting the land back to the Ukrainian state, the Russian Defense Ministry reported today. The statement likely will come as hardly a shock to most observers, and was coupled by a statement reaffirming the claim that the region is one “of the Russian Federation” and “not…
After much speculation, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made another public appearance, ending the rumors of his sickness or demise that prompted many news articles over the weekend. This initial appearance is a state visit from Bishkek by President Almzbek Atambayev of Kyrgyzstan. The hashtag #Putinumer spread over Russian twitter users. The huge amount of…
The Collective Security Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance comprised of six the six members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) – Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – and which receives the majority of its financing from Russia. Recently, CTSO Secretary General and Russian general Nikolay Bordyuzha announced the organization’s ability…
The IMF has agreed to funnel some $10 billion in additional assistance funds into Ukraine’s economy as part of a larger four year bailout program. The fund’s board approved a $17.5 billion loan with tranche payments of some $5 billion next week and the other $5 in the next month for Ukraine to borrow against.…
Longtime dissident and former deputy prime minister of Russia Boris Nemtsov was shot four times in the back and killed in an attack that has left Russian civil society in an uproar. In the weeks before his death, Nemtsov constantly raised suspicions that he would be targeted by the Putin regime for assassination. Nemtsov was one of…
The Ukrainian central bank began to severely restrict access to foreign currencies on Wednesday in an attempt to curb a sharp drop in the hryvnia, and then rapidly changed course, lifting the ban on foreign currency purchases. Ukraine’s economy has worsened due to infighting over legislation in the Ukrainian parliament and the related inability to…
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Bryan Early, founding Director of the Project on International Security, Commerce, and Economic Statecraft (PISCES) at the State University of New York at Albany. Dr. Early is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, as well as an expert on economic sanctions, proliferation issues and…
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