Russia’s Paramilitarization and its Consequences

For years, the Russian authorities have emphasized the military’s role in Russia’s nationbuilding and developed strong textual and visual narratives about its status as a cornerstone of the country’s historical…

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Russia’s Military Interventions: Patterns, Drivers, and Signposts

(RAND Corporation) Moscow’s use of its military abroad in recent years has radically reshaped perceptions of Russia as an international actor. With the 2014 annexation of Crimea, the invasion of…

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Russia’s Foreign Military Basing Strategy

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) In December 2020, news broke that Russia had signed an agreement with Sudan to build a naval base on the Red Sea. Given the refurbishment of…

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China’s Expanding Military Education Diplomacy in Central Asia

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) In the past decade, Chinese universities have been inviting mid- and senior-level military officers from Central Asia and other countries in Eurasia. Chinese military education programs…

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The Russian Military Police, from Syria to Karabakh

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) Following the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement signed in Moscow on November 9, 2020, between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that units of the Military Police…

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Strategic Sderzhivanie: Understanding Contemporary Russian Approaches to “Deterrence”

(Marshall Center) Executive Summary: There is a mismatch between the Western concept of deterrence and the Russian concept of sderzhivanie, and particularly strategic sderzhivanie. Strategic sderzhivanie encompasses the Western concepts…

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Strategic Russian Strategic Decision-Making in a Nordic Crisis

(RMR blog) Here’s the second in a series of policy briefs on Russian strategic culture and leadership decision-making, written for a collaborative project organized by the Marshall Center with support from…

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5 things you need to know about last week’s explosion in Russia

(WP Monkey Cage) (Co-authored with Michael Kofman) An Aug. 8 accident at Russia’s Nonoksa missile testing facility left seven dead and caused a brief radiation spike in a nearby town. What went wrong Vague and potentially…

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The United States and Uzbekistan: Military-to-Military Relations in a New Era of Strategic Partnership

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) The 2016 change of power in Uzbekistan to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev prompted the deepening of cooperation between Washington and Tashkent. While rapprochement touched many areas of bilateral…

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Russia’s Militia Groups and their Use at Home and Abroad

(IFRI) What makes the militia milieu so unique and important for understanding today’s Russia is that it finds itself at the intersection of state institutions, patronage mechanisms, criminal structures, and grassroots…

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Military

Russia’s Paramilitarization and its Consequences

Russia’s Military Interventions: Patterns, Drivers, and Signposts

Russia’s Foreign Military Basing Strategy

China’s Expanding Military Education Diplomacy in Central Asia

The Russian Military Police, from Syria to Karabakh

Strategic Sderzhivanie: Understanding Contemporary Russian Approaches to “Deterrence”

Strategic Russian Strategic Decision-Making in a Nordic Crisis

5 things you need to know about last week’s explosion in Russia

The United States and Uzbekistan: Military-to-Military Relations in a New Era of Strategic Partnership

Russia’s Militia Groups and their Use at Home and Abroad

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