Casus Belli: The Reaction in Post-Soviet Countries to Putin’s Interview with Carlson

In his interview with Tucker Carlson, President Vladimir Putin provided justification for his policy toward Ukraine. In particular, considerable attention was paid to Putin's interpretation of history. It is quite obvious that Putin's interpretation of the events in Ukraine was enthusiastically supported by the official Russian press. In Ukraine itself it was received extremely negatively. The perception of this interview in other post-Soviet countries is somewhat more complicated.

“Confused Seas”: The Current State of Maritime Affairs

The global maritime arena is undergoing a period of change and upheaval. This includes Iranian aggression and Houthi piracy, conflict in the Black Sea, maritime border disputes over energy deposits in the Mediterranean Sea, tensions in the South China Sea, Russian and Iranian shadow ships, drought in the Panama Canal, and new emissions standards for vessels, all of which are hindering global trade while adding to the cost of energy transit and insurance. This article provides a brief overview of these emerging challenges, examines the connections between them, and points to steps the global community must take to address them.

A New Armenian Geostrategy: Trading Russia for Iran and BRICS?

By signing military cooperation agreements with France and the United States, Armenia have chosen to "Go West" as the most logical substitution to a major vector of Yerevan former foreign policy line. However, Armenia’s estrangement from Moscow, seems leading it to and entirely different direction - eastward, towards Iran and India.

Russian Nationalists’ Movement Against the Backdrop of War in Ukraine

The war and the anti-migrant campaign gave patriotic nationalists quite a dramatic increase in popularity at the level of social networks. The popularity of the Telegram channels of both media and individuals belonging to this segment of the political spectrum grew between 3 and 10 times by the end of 2022

BESA Geo-Energy Program

BESA Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Digest No. 3 (December 2023)

In December 2023, the BESA Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Program published papers on separatist threats and Church-related antisemitism in Russia, French participation in post-Soviet geopolitical dynamics, the perception of Israel’s war against Hamas in Russia and Ukraine, and the geopolitical (re)orientation of Armenia.

Kalmykia: Ethnic Separatism in the Lower Volga Region

Located in the very southeast of Europe, Kalmykia, a subject of the Russian Federation in the lower Volga region, has almost never been in the spotlight of the global community.

“The Middle Eastern Front” of the Russian-Ukrainian War: A View from Jerusalem

As the fighting in Gaza develops, Russia's position is becoming increasingly clear: Moscow almost openly supports Hamas as a satellite of Iran, Russia's closest partner in the Middle East. This significantly sets the current situation apart from the relatively balanced approach demonstrated by Moscow during, for instance, the IDF's Operation Protective Edge in 2014, and Russia’s subsequent policy of presenting itself as an “impartial mediator” between all participants in the Middle East conflict.

BESA Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Digest No. 2 (November 2023)

In November 2023, the BESA Post-Soviet Conflict Research Program published a series of texts, half of which focus on the recent surge of anti-Semitism in the region of interest, and the rest on the recent dynamics of military supplies in the South Caucasus, Russian-Georgian relations, and the electoral behavior of Kazakhstan's Russian-speaking minority.

BESA Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Digest No. 2 (November 2023)

BESA Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Digest No. 1 (September-October 2023)

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