Russia

Economist Vladislav Inozemtsev envisions three scenarios that will likely shape the world we are heading towards, a world in which it is hard to place Russia, which continues to act as a "rogue element”, much as it has so done throughout much of its distant and recent past.

The diplomatic crisis involving Ukraine is getting tangled up with President Lee Jae-myung’s overtures towards Russia. South Korea hopes that the Kremlin might facilitate fresh talks with the North; however, contacts with Moscow are fuelling suspicions in Washington and risk jeopardising relations with Kyiv and South Korea’s European partners.

The Meduza website interviewed political scientist Margarita Zavadskaya, one of the co-founders of the OutRush project, which, based in Finland, studies Russian emigration, how emigrants adapt abroad, and the conflict between ‘those who have left’ and ‘those who have stayed’. It also examines the differences between the various waves of migration.

Whilst Washington continues to talk of mediation, attacks on ships are intensifying, even in the territorial waters of third countries, along a route that is vital for wheat supplies to many parts of the world. There is a push to involve India, Egypt and Turkey in a negotiated solution.

At the recent Valdai Forum, Putin complained and issued threats. A now predictable spectacle, featuring disagreement over an energy truce, the promise to finally conquer the Donbas, and the intimidating tactic that no one possesses weapons like Russia’s,

A group of migrant workers were promised well-paid construction jobs but were instead handed over to the Russian military. After only 21 days of training, they were sent to the battlefield. Seventeen reportedly died on their first day of deployment. One returned home severely injured after crawling kilometres to safety. Two suspected traffickers have been arrested.

A renowned scholar of Sorokin and a Canadian citizen, he returned to his home village in the summer of 2025 and was arrested. He has now been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for collaborating with foreign powers and promoting nationalist movements amongst the Finno-Ugric peoples. He had warned: “We risk disappearing under Putin”.

Increasingly, the focus of new possibilities opened up by melting ice, polar routes have become a place of geopolitical confrontation. Although Russian officials continue to project an image of equal cooperation with China, Russia actually finds itself in a vulnerable position.

Historian Pakhaluk analyses a concept that has become increasingly central to Putin’s propaganda, which seeks to transform the memory of the victims of Nazi crimes not only into a tool of political propaganda, but also into a justification for the crimes of the Stalinist system and the aggression against Ukraine

Over 120 scientists, researchers and students from Russia and Central Asian countries took part in new fieldwork across various countries. Among the objectives was the creation of a database and 3D models for the virtual museum “Great Altai – The Homeland of the Turanics”

These days, it is hard to find a single person who has not had a row with their parents, siblings or closest friends over differences of opinion regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war. Ideologies encapsulate traumas within narratives, creating an emotional aura in which political opinions, values and interests align with the characteristics of one’s own psychological makeup.

After two wars in Chechnya, many have been forced to leave, creating a rift that is not merely geographical. Kadyrov and his loyalists accuse the emigrants of ‘having sold out to Europe’. The diaspora points the finger at repression and the war in Ukraine. A conflict that is also poisoning personal and family relationships.