After Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death, Russia’s long-term trajectory under Putin looks increasingly dire. The enormous complexity of Russia’s challenges is more likely to paralyze Russia’s elites in ways that will enable Putin to delay a reckoning until long after the damage he has done can no longer be fixed.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, independent Russian journalists who refused to follow the Kremlin’s narrow rules have had to flee the country, endure persecution by Russian intelligence and suffer the suspicion of those in their new homes. Now the attempted assassination of one of their own has raised their fears to new heights.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates has worked proactively to embrace Russian business while hoping to evade pressure from the U.S. and its allies. Despite narratives of the UAE and Saudi Arabia drifting from the U.S. orbit, the Gulf states continue to recognize their dependency on U.S. security ties.
The divisive debate within BRICS over whether and how aggressively to expand membership is a sign the group lacks a clear mission and direction. But it also underscores the differences in how BRICS’ members view both the benefits they receive from the grouping and their future role in the international community.
Ukraine’s wartime travel restrictions trapping most of its male population inside the country have had dire impacts on the civilian population. Although it’s easy to view the travel ban’s biggest victims as civilian men, a new report shows that it is actually Ukrainian women who are particularly keen to modify or lift it.