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Russia

The Kremlin Files: Russia, the Modern Surveillance State

The Kremlin Files: Russia, the Modern Surveillance State

THE KREMLIN FILES / COLUMN — Ask any Russian intelligence officer about “naruzhka,” and you’ll see them nod knowingly. It’s the term for physical, [...] More

RussiaEuropeIntelligence

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The Kremlin's Kill List: Inside a Culture of State-Sponsored Murder

The Kremlin's Kill List: Inside a Culture of State-Sponsored Murder

EXPERT OPINION / PERSPECTIVE — The 2024 spy swap between Russia and the West exposed a brutal truth: Moscow still treats innocent civilians as [...] More

RussiaEurope

The U.S. Needs to Restore Deterrence Credibility Against Putin

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

The U.S. Needs to Restore Deterrence Credibility Against Putin

OPINION — President Donald Trump’s 28-point peace plan is a humanitarian attempt to halt the killing and destruction in Ukraine, although Russia’s [...] More

RussiaAmbassador Joseph DeTraniUkraineEurope
Do Oil Sanctions Still Work?

Do Oil Sanctions Still Work?

DEEP DIVE — On October 22, 2025, in his boldest move yet to force Vladimir Putin back to the negotiating table, President Trump unleashed sweeping [...] More

RussiaEurope

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

Rob Dannenberg

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

EXPERT OPINION – The recently leaked 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine is nothing short of an appeasement that satisfies the maximalist [...] More

RussiaUkraineEurope
A file picture taken 12 July 2007 shows the headquarters (aka Lubianka) of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the former KGB in Moscow.

Russia’s Intelligence Services After the War

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Russia’s intelligence services (RIS) have failed spectacularly in Ukraine: in planning, execution, and analysis, yet they will [...] More

RussiaEuropeIntelligence

Why Putin Is Losing The War In Ukraine That He Thinks He Is Winning

Gilbert W. Merkx

Why Putin Is Losing The War In Ukraine That He Thinks He Is Winning

OPINION — The Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in January 2022 is now approaching its fourth year. The cost for Ukraine has been very high, but [...] More

RussiaUkraineGilbert W. MerkxEuropeAlternative Perspectives

Countering the Kremlin’s Five Most Effective Narratives About Ukraine

Dave Pitts

Countering the Kremlin’s Five Most Effective Narratives About Ukraine

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — In the summer of 2008, as Russian tanks rolled toward the borders of Georgia, the battle had already begun—shaped decisively by [...] More

RussiaDave PittsUkraineEurope

Putin’s Strategic Failure: How the Ukraine War Is Eroding Russia From Within

Rob Dannenberg

Putin’s Strategic Failure: How the Ukraine War Is Eroding Russia From Within

And there is one sure thing about the fall of gods: they do not fall a little; they crash and shatter or sink deeply into green muck.- John [...] More

RussiaUkraineEurope
Can Western Sanctions Stop Putin’s War?

Can Western Sanctions Stop Putin’s War?

DEEP DIVE – Looking at the recent headlines from Russia, this much seems clear: the West’s sanctions against the country are finally working.Oil [...] More

RussiaEurope

Why Nuclear Negotiations with Russia Are Worth It

Walter Pincus

Why Nuclear Negotiations with Russia Are Worth It

FINE PRINT / OPINION — “In order to prevent the emergence of a new strategic arms race and to preserve an acceptable degree of predictability and [...] More

RussiaNuclearWalter PincusFine PrintEurope

Riding the Tiger: Why Xi and Putin’s ‘Axis of Autocracies’ Could End the Way Churchill Predicted

Mark Kelton

Riding the Tiger: Why Xi and Putin’s ‘Axis of Autocracies’ Could End the Way Churchill Predicted

“Dictators,” Churchill observed, “ride to and fro on tigers from which they dare not dismount.” “And,” he added, “the tigers are getting [...] More

RussiaChinaEuropeAsia

China is Forgetting its History with Russia

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

China is Forgetting its History with Russia

OPINION — For the past month, it was an onslaught of news and photos of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in meetings [...] More

RussiaChinaAmbassador Joseph DeTraniEuropeAsia