The fact that the Russian elites have such high hopes for Trump speaks volumes. Internally, they are striving for normalization, rationalization, and pragmatism: things that Putin cannot give them.

Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to discuss Russia’s updated nuclear doctrine, the strike on Dnipro using the experimental Oreshnik missile, and the possibility of new strategic arms agreements between Russia and the US.

Moscow would be wise to recognize that Japan is standing against Russian aggression and in support of the international system not because of U.S. pressure, but to defend itself.

Russia’s central bank finds itself in the firing line amid sky-high interest rates and an economy that looks headed toward recession and stagflation.

Opinion among Ukrainians about Trump is divided: some believe his presidency will be a disaster for their cause in the war with Russia; others see it as an opportunity.

The military value of Russia’s strike on Ukraine using the new Oreshnik missile was limited. The Kremlin’s real intent was to intimidate Europeans.

Even if the Abkhazian opposition manages to capitalize on its success by putting forward a successful candidate in the upcoming presidential election, the next leader will still have to find common ground with Moscow.

Recent updates to Russia’s nuclear doctrine lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, but Russia’s red lines are only really visible on the battlefield.

Minsk is counting on the new U.S. administration’s actions vis-a-vis Russia and Ukraine to bring it out of diplomatic isolation without meaningful concessions on its part. But will Lukashenko’s ambitious gamble pay off?

The Kremlin sees its anti-Western alliance with Tehran as testing a new model of international relations—and does not want it stymied.