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2025 Saw the Biggest Change in U.S.-Russia Relations Since the October Revolution

Whoever succeeds Trump will struggle to undo the damage dealt to Washington's alliances and the advantages he has granted Russia.

Whether Supporters of the War or Not, Russia’s Youth Have More in Common Than They Think

Defeatist about social change but largely content with their material situation, expecting young Russians change the system is futile.

Nicholas Castillo

Where Does Russia Stand After a Year of Recalibration in the Caucasus?

Russia is used to being the dominant player in the region. While it remains an important economic partner, political trends tell a different story.

An Anonymous Writer in Russia

The Lessons of the Decembrist Revolt Aren’t What Russia’s Opposition Wants to Hear

Most of Russia’s successful liberal reforms have actually come from an autocratic state trying to reform itself rather than from popular uprisings.

Tatyana Rybakova

Russia's Economy in the Late 2020s Will Look a Lot Like the Late Soviet Economy

The question is not whether the parallels with the late Soviet era are real, but whether the story will end the same way that it did for the U.S.S.R.

When Russia Finally Protested – Over a Condo

Forget geopolitics. Russia is furious about a pop star who lost her apartment.

Not Even Pro-War Russians Find This Ukraine War Comedy Funny

A series combining military propaganda with jokes upset Russians who felt it made fun of their dead family members.

Freeing Political Prisoners Does Not Cure the Disease of Dictatorship

Releasing political prisoners is important but merely addresses the symptoms instead of the root cause of the autocratic regime.

Andras Toth-Czifra

The Kremlin’s Cost-Benefit Calculations Sell Kursk Residents Short

Ending payments to locals displaced by Ukraine's incursion into their home region speaks volumes about how little they matter to Moscow.

Russia's Roblox Ban Makes Censorship Look Silly

Children are complaining to Putin after Roblox was banned. Unlike adults, they haven't learned not to object when their lives are interfered with.

Indian Manpower Is No Silver Bullet for Russia's Labor Shortage

Russia faces a shortfall of 10 million workers by 2030. But Indians tapped to fill that gap may not receive a warm welcome.

What to Do When You’re Wanted by Interpol

It is a problem faced by Russians who have fallen foul of the Kremlin. Thankfully, there is a solution.

Erasing Magadan's Gulag Past Enables Today's Violence

The city was built by forced labor and lay at the heart of one of the largest and deadliest settlements. Authorities want to silence that fact.

Viktoria Maladaeva

Russia's Opposition Is Leaving Indigenous People Behind. We Will Not Remain Silent.

Yulia Navalnaya and her team are continuing their track record of othering and dismissing Russia's Indigenous people.

Global Business Didn't Save Russia in the 1990s. It Won't Today, Either.

Washington is not only seeking to extract maximum profit from ending the war, but engaging in magical thinking imagining it will create peace.

Trump’s Ukraine Peace Push Was Always a Naked Cash Grab

Trump's willingness to “bring Russia’s $2 trillion economy in from the cold” is a willingness to sacrifice Ukraine and undermine U.S. interests.

Tatyana Rybakova

Russia May Have Won a Company, But Lost a Friend in Serbia

With the situation around NIS, Russia exploited its power so bluntly that the trust of ordinary Serbs is likely lost forever.

Dmitry Nekrasov

Did Russia Really Have a Gasoline Crisis? New Data Suggests Otherwise.

While there were certainly some shortages in Russia's regions this summer, the picture painted by a new survey could hardly be called a crisis.

Europe’s Anti-Russian Sabotage Plans Miss the Real Problem

By focusing on visa restrictions for Russians, the EU is missing Moscow's actual sabotage tactics and how they can harden themselves against them.

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