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Youth Organization Signals Growing Russian Militarization

Executive Summary: The Movement of the First, a successor to the Soviet Pioneers, is growing, indicating the potential for a more radicalized, militarized Russian future. The Kremlin-sponsored organization is ostensibly…

“Предки всех российских ЧВК”: исследователь – о роли казаков юга России в войне против Украины

Редакция Кавказ.Реалии обсудила с доцентом кафедры политологии и исследователем казачества Ричардом Арнольдом, какую роль казаки играют во вторжении в Украину и каким образом этот институт трансформировался на юге России. Read…

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Filtering the News: Why Russians Prefer Propaganda and Shield Themselves from Independent Reporting

Image license/credit How do the lies of Russian propaganda work? In recent years, Kremlin-controlled media have promoted thousands of fabricated stories, including some completely absurd narratives—e.g., about “Nazis” in Kyiv…

Cossack Youth Join In On ‘Breeding For War’

Executive Summary: Cossack education has increasingly focused on preparing Russian youth for war. New Cossack cadet corps are being developed in Crimea, expanding Russia’s foothold on the peninsula. Cultural events…

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Center-Regional Relations in Russia during the War: Are There Signs of Model Erosion?

Image license/credit As of fall 2023, a military stalemate had emerged between Russia and Ukraine, with no clear path to a lasting compromise acceptable to both sides failing a change…

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Unfulfillable Promise: Mediation Efforts in the Russian-Ukrainian War since 2014

Image license/credit Part 2. Wartime MediationThis memo is the second in a two-part assessment of the effectiveness of mediation in the Russian-Ukrainian war during its gray-zone (2014-2022) and conventional (2022-present)…

Cossacks Plan More Military Aggrandizement

Executive Summary: A resurgence of Cossack militarism is occurring in Russia, evidenced through proposed legislation to the State Duma to establish a reserve army. Cossack leaders announce plans for new…

Moscow Moves to Establish Cossack Hosts in Occupied Ukrainian Territories

Executive Summary: The Kremlin has expanded the state-registered Cossack movement within Russia and the illegally annexed regions of Ukraine. The Cossack institutions established in the Luhansk region aim to foster…

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Cossacks as a Case Study of Russia’s Paramilitarization

Image license/credit Since the Wagner mutiny of June 2023, the role of paramilitaries in Russia has become a subject of intense scrutiny. Not only do such groups represent a diminution…

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Ramzan Kadyrov: Between Putin’s Loyal Praetorian Guard and Devoted Servant of the Chechen People

Image license/credit In this policy memo, we analyze the ways in which Ramzan Kadyrov has instrumentalized Russia’s successes and failures in the war in Ukraine for his own political benefit.…

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In Their Own Voice: Supporting Russia’s Wartime Migrants

Image license/credit A recent Radio Free Liberty report tells the story of two young anti-war activists, Adelya and Ivan from Nizhnekamsk (Tatarstan), who fled Russia after being intimidated and threatened…

Cossack Fighters Replace Wagner Forces in Ukraine

Since becoming ataman of the Cossacks in November 2023, Vitaly Kuznetsov has charted a new direction for the state-registered movement that replicates the Wagner Group model in some ways. In…

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Youth Organization Signals Growing Russian Militarization

“Предки всех российских ЧВК”: исследователь – о роли казаков юга России в войне против Украины

Filtering the News: Why Russians Prefer Propaganda and Shield Themselves from Independent Reporting

Cossack Youth Join In On ‘Breeding For War’

Center-Regional Relations in Russia during the War: Are There Signs of Model Erosion?

Unfulfillable Promise: Mediation Efforts in the Russian-Ukrainian War since 2014

Cossacks Plan More Military Aggrandizement

Moscow Moves to Establish Cossack Hosts in Occupied Ukrainian Territories

Cossacks as a Case Study of Russia’s Paramilitarization

Ramzan Kadyrov: Between Putin’s Loyal Praetorian Guard and Devoted Servant of the Chechen People

In Their Own Voice: Supporting Russia’s Wartime Migrants

Cossack Fighters Replace Wagner Forces in Ukraine