MenuRussia’s targets are not limited to nuclear. A September 12th attack on Ukraine’s second largest thermal powerplant left thousands in major metropolitan areas without power. The attack was a response to Ukrainian counteroffensives, where the Ukrainian military retook over 6,000 sq km of the Russian-occupied territory in the Balakleya, Izyum and Kupiansk regions, and seized the initiative. While this
Category Archives: Russia & Eurasia
The Greed And Geopolitics Of The OPEC+ Oil Production Cut
This move is not unexpected. As I wrote here, President Joe Biden’s failure in Saudi Arabia in July to secure more oil production shook Saudi Arabia’s transactional relationship (security for oil) with the USA to its foundations. Saudi Arabia began importing Russian fuel oils for domestic use to free up more crude oil for export months ago, with the
Russia’s Purported Sabotage Of The Nord Stream Pipeline Marks A Point Of No Return
There can now be no negotiated reopening or resumption of deliveries even if the battlefields of Ukraine instantly fall silent. The Russians have achieved their immediate goal, with Reuters reporting “Nord Stream AG said it was impossible to estimate when the gas network system’s working capability would be restored.” This winter, Europe is doomed to face
Russia’s trajectory of hate: A big war against the West coming
Putin, in his Götterdämmerung moment, is fearmongering. In Stalinist propaganda language, he claims that the West “took off their masks and showed their true nature” … “for centuries [the West] wanted to colonize Russia, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union dreamed, but failed, to shatter it into pieces, set off ethnic groups against each other,
A Tale of Good Intentions and Unexpected Consequences
Despite Francis Fukuyama’s infamous opinion, history certainly did not end. The imperial collapse was an unintended consequence of Gorbachev’s desire to humanize socialism and save the USSR. He utterly failed in both tasks, but Russia and other Soviet republics were liberated from the Communist nightmare, and the world gained 30 years of relative peace, which is
India, The Rising Power, Is Seeking Oil From The Middle East And Russia
The world’s most populous democracy is searching for ways to satiate its oil hunger, and it has decided to follow the well-worn path of engagement with the Middle East. Continue reading here..
Pariahs And Pals: Emerging Russo-Iranian Energy Cooperation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met for a much-heralded meeting in Tehran on July 19th to discuss energy policy, maritime security, and Syria. Many are eager to portray the meeting as a convergence of principled anti-western leaders who will challenge the international system. Read the full
The Roots of Putin’s Strategic Fiasco in Ukraine
From many conversations held with Russian policymakers, we know that the vision which denies Ukraine peoplehood, and the Kremlin’s resulting aggressions, are nothing new. This war’s atrocities flow from the dark misapprehensions held by many Moscow elites concerning Russia’s destiny, history and geopolitics. Read the full article…
Is a Marshall Plan right for Ukraine?
Even before battlefields are silent, the battle for billions in Ukrainian reconstruction budgets has already begun. Top U.S. policy makers, including Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen championed the initial assistance package to Ukraine, which passed (86-11) in the Senate on May 19. Read the full article…
Kazakhstan Needs Stability And Economic Institutions To Develop Energy Resources
To understand the international agonies and opportunities that rising energy supply costs, exogenous shocks, increasing interest in renewables, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine present, there is no better example than Kazakhstan. It is singularly damaged by the current crises while simultaneously having so much potential to benefit from the global need for energy. Read the