In-Depth Research & Reports

Lubyanka federation: How the FSB determines the politics and economics of Russia

By The Dossier Center

The FSB is one of Russia’s most closed government agencies, its work cloaked in secrecy. This report lifts the veil on how the organization works.

The trip from Donbas: Ukraine’s pressing need to defend its veterans

By Lauren Van Metre & John Boerstler

Ukraine’s veterans from the war in the Donbas are at the crossroads of major changes occurring within Ukrainian society today, but a lack of support for veterans creates a critical void in Ukraine’s national security and hobbles its transition to democracy.

New challenges and dwindling returns for Russia’s national champions, Gazprom and Rosneft

By Anders Åslund & Steven Fisher

As Russia’s economic future is clouded by negative demographic trends, new energy technologies and efficiencies, volatile commodity prices, and the likelihood of continued Western sanctions, Gazprom and Rosneft, Russia’s two natural resource champions face a comeuppance: international competition, global and regional market access, capital investment, and revenue/cost efficiency.

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.