In-Depth Research & Reports

Thinking foreign policy in Russia: Think tanks and grand narratives

By Anton Barbashin & Alexander Graef

Russia’s post-Crimean foreign policy does not exist in a vacuum. Its ramifications are colliding with regional and global trends that are effectively destabilizing the post-Cold War international order.

Prospects of the Russian protest movement

Amid a summer of protest and Vladimir Putin’s declining popularity, Ksenia Kirillova looks at the Russian protests victories, weaknesses, and next steps.

Prospects of the Russian protest movement

By Ksenia Kirillova

Amid a summer of protest and Vladimir Putin’s declining popularity, Ksenia Kirillova looks at the Russian protests victories, weaknesses, and next steps.

Перспективы российского протестного движения

By Ксения Кириллова

Итоги выборов в Москве подтвердили как рост протестных настроений среди населения, так и способность оппозиции мобилизовать и координировать свои действия.

Перспективы российского протестного движения

By Ksenia Kirillova

Итоги выборов в Москве подтвердили как рост протестных настроений среди населения, так и способность оппозиции мобилизовать и координировать свои действия.

Russia’s intervention in Venezuela: What’s at stake?

By John E. Herbst and Jason Marczak

Venezuela is suffering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in recent memory, Russia has become a key actor that has provided a lifeline of support to Maduro and his cronies. Today, Russia’s efforts to prop up Nicolás Maduro have been a relatively low-cost, but high-reward strategy for Moscow to sow further instability in the United States’ own hemisphere.

The “#Macron leaks” operation: a post-mortem

By Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer

“The #Macron Leaks Operation,” by Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer analyzes the coordinated attempt to undermine Emmanuel Macron’s candidacy, with a disinformation campaign consisting of rumors, fake news, and even forged documents; a hack targeting the computers of his campaign staff; and, finally, a leak—15 gigabytes (GB) of stolen data.

US international broadcasting: recommendations from the Eurasian experience

By Thomas Kent

Perhaps the most important US tool for contesting these narratives, directly to the populations Moscow targets, is US international broadcasting.

Dealing with the offshore economy

By Alan Riley

The West, with its rule of law and creation of the Western-governed offshore economy, has given corrupt elites in developing countries the tools and capacity to avoid ever establishing the rule of law in their own countries.

The Putin exodus: The new Russian brain drain

By John E. Herbst, Sergei Erofeev

Human capital is fleeing Russia. Since President Vladimir Putin’s ascent to the presidency, between 1.6 and 2 million Russians – out of a total population of 145 million – have left for Western democracies.