The Post-Soviet Post

Russia’s current military buildup is taking place in Central Asia where the Russian military is dominant the dominant force begs the question: Why is Russia enhancing its military presence in a region it already dominates—particularly at a time of global economic downturn?

This paper explains how Wagner Group emerged to fit into Russia’s great power competition strategy of expanding Russia’s security, political, and economic influence abroad while remaining beneath the threshold of catalyzing overt, large-scale military conflict.

This paper argues that the European Union can and should play a more effective role in influencing U.S.-Russia arms control negotiations.

This article is part of the CSIS executive education program Understanding the Russian Military Today.

The year 2020 has ruined many people’s plans but none more so than Russian President Vladimir Putin’s. This paper explores how the pandemic and protests have elevated Russia’s threat perception in ways that the United States and Europe must understand to avoid a costly confrontation.

This article is part of the CSIS executive education program Understanding the Russian Military Today.

This article is part of the CSIS executive education program Understanding the Russian Military Today.

In 2016, Vladimir Putin claimed that, by drawing administrative borders along ethnic lines and granting national self-determination, Vladimir Lenin had planted a “time bomb” at the foundation of the Soviet Union’s statehood and that of Russia itself. This paper explains how Kremlin's quest for unified history is aimed to defuse this ontological time bomb.

On December 27, 2019, the Russian Minister of Defense announced that the Russian military had successfully deployed the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV). What impact does the development of Avangard have on U.S. and NATO security? This paper answers this question.

In July 2020, Russian parliament approved a set of amendments to Russia's education law, which stipulated that institutions should form in students “a sense of patriotism and civic consciousness." This paper explores the further codification of a trend toward the militarization of Russia’s youth.