Russia has long maintained the status quo in the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. But Moscow no longer appears willing to do so, and Azerbaijanis are taking the region back by force.
Vladimir Putin is often accused of trying to restore the old Soviet Union. But his meeting with Kim Jong Un suggests he might be focusing on restoring ties with like-minded former Soviet allies instead.
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s attempted rebellion didn’t topple President Vladimir Putin. But in its aftermath, it has launched debate over just how stable Mr. Putin’s hold on the country really is.
The visit to Russia by Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu that began on April 16, 2023, was, to a large extent, evocative of the visit made by China's President Xi Jinping less than a month earlier.[1]It began with a sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin and took place in an atmosphere of great positivity. One senior journalist described it as part of a continued
Chinese President Xi Jin Ping's recently concluded three-day visit to Russia heartened the Russian leadership. The duration of the visit, along with the fact that Russia was Xi's first foreign trip after being elected for a third term, had symbolic value, as did Xi's endorsement of Vladimir Putin's prospective presidential reelection bid in 2024. Although Putin did announce