Kremlin

Destabilisation – the Kremlin agenda

KCS Group Europe has long talked about Russia’s attempts to infiltrate the governments of its border countries, many of which were once part of the USSR. We’ve seen issues in the Baltics, with politicians and individuals attempting to generate resistance to the current elected government by building opposition parties, all instigated and paid for by …

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Divide and conquer: The Kremlin’s gambit

Petrov’s Defence, known popularly as the Russian Game, is a chess opening based around symmetry: the second player matching the moves of the first through pawn, knight and so on, in a game that has a reputation for leading to protracted, difficult draws unless a player can seize upon a momentary advantage that may come …

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Creating a Dictator

The quagmire of a lengthy, painful, and ultimately unsuccessful campaign in Afghanistan in the 1980s is credited with hastening the demise of the Soviet Union. History could well be repeating, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stretches into an eleventh month and domestic discontent with Putin’s war continues to rise. Could this be the trigger that …

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Russia and Putin: The end of the road?

If you drive south-east out of St. Petersburg, you find yourself on the Trans-Siberian Highway, a network of roads eleven thousand kilometres long that is, depending on your disposition towards Australia, either the longest or second-longest highway on the planet. But even eleven thousand kilometres must come to an end, and the prospect of Vladivostok …

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Ilan Shor: the Kremlin’s new man in Moldova

In previous articles, KCS Group Europe has reported on the Kremlin’s strategy to fund pro-Russia politicians and influential figures in various Eastern European nations like Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania. Next on the list is Moldova. The small Eastern European nation finds itself in a very difficult position regarding Russian influence – arguably, …

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Moldova: in between a rock and a hard place

Moldova finds itself in a tricky situation currently. Since the invasion of Ukraine, the neighboring country has struggled to maintain its support for Ukraine and its pro-Western stance while, at the same time, receiving an enormous amount of pressure from Russia. The lack of natural energy resources means Moldova relies heavily on Russian natural gas …

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Victor Orban: the Kremlin’s Trojan Horse?

Looking at the current Europe of the world should leave one in trepidation about the continent in the years to come. Because of the actions of one man with an extraordinary Napoleon complex, Russia is now a social pariah and has plunged Europe into an energy and cost of living crisis. Very few countries outwardly …

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Strongman of the Year: Kremlin Edition

Where does the soul of Russia lie? Some might say in its literature, with Chekhov, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy providing a formidable ‘reading list’. Others might speak for its music, with Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov among the foremost of classical composers. But, perhaps, there is a third answer, something inextricably bound up in the Russian soul that …

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