The optimistic budget parameters indicate its political and propaganda function.

The drivers’ protest is one of the largest and most extensive protests by workers on economic grounds in Russia in recent years.

Russian-Turkish relations have been plunged into deep crisis in since a Turkish fighter jet downed a Russian bomber aircraft.

Electricity supplies from mainland Ukraine to Crimea were completely severed overnight on 21 and 22 November.

The Kremlin has been using the attacks in Paris to persuade the West to fundamentally shift its  policy towards Syria – and also towards Russia.

At present, the Kremlin’s is seeking a diplomatic formula that would keep al-Assad in power while providing Western capitals with a face saving.

At the meeting in Paris, discussions began about the possible extension of the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

Moscow’s recent moves prove that it still has a strong influence in the Middle East – but this is above all the potential for destabilisation.

The operation in Syria is the first open military intervention by the Russian Federation outside the area of the former Soviet Union.

The Kremlin’s overall aim is to use the crisis caused by the Syrian civil war to overcome Russia’s limited isolation, imposed by the West.