The overriding goals of Russia’s European security policy have remained unaltered: strategic control of the post-Soviet area, the existence of a security buffer zone in Central Europe and the transformation of the existing NATO-based…

The purpose of the present paper is to analyse the most important changes that have taken place in the Kaliningrad Oblast since 2016. Part One analyses the dynamics of the political and social situation with special…

In contemporary Russia, the traditional socio-political culture has left a legacy of conviction that the political leadership, headed by the president, is the only body empowered to act, capable of making decisions and…

It is generally believed that one sign that the secret services are doing their job well is media silence. In this respect, Russia is a special case: the services receive an excess of media coverage, which is part of…

Russia’s long-term goal is to prevent the reunification of the Korean peninsula…

In 2018 Gazprom, Russia’s biggest state-controlled gas company, adopted the largest investment programme in its history. In 2017, the company also reported its…

The Western sanctions have proved painful for the Russian elite not only in terms of finance, but also of image and prestige. However, thanks to the EU's…

The history of the special services and the ideas which organise them in the symbolic sphere are an important part of the reflection on their contemporary role and position. Over the centuries, the secret services defined Russia's…

The current system of government in Russia will not collapse, although signs of destabilisation may appear. The authorities will not carry out any reforms, political or economic. A process of ‘technocratisation’ will take place. The…

Russia’s policy in the Middle East is part of a broader strategy aimed at creating an international order in which Russia would be protected against Western interference in its…