Russia

Sri Lanka: A Rock and a Hard Place

After weeks of protest, violence and crises, the Sri Lankans finally have their man. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned and, as the one held personally responsible for the months of fuel, food and medicine shortages, and the veritable collapse of the Sri Lankan economy, the delight felt by those citizens currently enjoying ‘palace life’ is […]

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The luxuries of avoiding sanctions

Global sanctions on Russia continue apace, and there are rare admissions from within the country that these are working. Transport Minister, Vitaly Savelyev, has indicated that current trade logistics have been ‘virtually wrecked’, and the news that McDonalds and Starbucks are to permanently leave the country is, to the ordinary Russian, just as disappointing as

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Africa and Russia: It takes two

While most of the world has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one region has been far less forthcoming than most in registering its opposition. This is Africa, where half of the continent’s representatives in the UN failed to support the initial resolution demanding an immediate end to the invasion and from which condemnation has

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Central Asia – A House Built on Sand

The phrase “The Great Game” has become something of a lazy cliché when referencing anything to do with Central Asia. Regrettably, therefore, it has never been more apt than today. Much as it was during the days of empire, it is once again a hotbed of political and geopolitical struggle. Where aristocrats, warlords, tribesmen and

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Mustang Panda, Hidden Dragon

‘Bronze President’ is not just another nickname for Donald Trump. It is a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group that has historically operated in the South Asian region, working across Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Burma (Myanmar), to gather sensitive information of interest to Beijing in its own backyard. But there are signs that the group’s targets are

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A sanctioned operation

The list of sanctions against prominent Russian figures grows ever longer. In addition to the ‘usual suspects’ of high-ranking political, economic and military figures, the consequences of the war are now becoming a family affair, with Putin’s two adult children and the daughter of Foreign Minister Lavrov included in the latest round for the first

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Chisinau is the winter of our discontent…

Of all the questions asked in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the most predominant has been “Where next?”. Whether Moscow’s forces had swept into Kyiv as winners of a lighting battle, or mired as they currently are in a ‘long war’, few expect Putin’s horizons to stop at the Ukrainian

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