When Vladimir Putin calls Ukraine an “artificial state,” he is largely projecting Russia’s own problems onto it. After all, the considerations that produced Russia’s current borders aren’t exactly transparent.
Russia’s nuclear development of the Arctic continues apace, but with the country cut off from regional cooperation initiatives and foreign funding, many worry it may struggle to respond to a nuclear emergency.
It might seem that within BRICS, Russia should be overshadowed by the giant economies of China and India, especially the former. Yet what is happening is almost the opposite, with Russia effectively taking over the leading role in the club.
Georgian Dream’s message that the parliamentary elections were a chance for Georgians to choose between war and peace clearly proved more convincing than the opposition’s narrative of a choice between Russia and the EU.
BRICS is emerging as a sandbox for experimentation with various non-USD instruments, including payment systems, cryptocurrencies, digitalized mechanisms for trade in national currencies or through barter, and hubs for commodities trading outside of dollar dominance.
A narrower-than-expected victory for pro-EU incumbent Maia Sandu chimes with Moldova’s electoral history and complex regional loyalties.
As BRICS has expanded its membership during the past year, it has grown to encompass nearly half of the world’s population, lending it greater credibility as a platform for reflecting an increasingly multipolar world. Yet despite this expansion, the group continues to face internal divisions.
The Georgian Dream party is stoking hopes among ordinary Georgians about the return of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Yet without Moscow’s approval, it’s impossible to imagine substantive negotiations taking place.
A central bank digital currency could provide Russia with an alternative to the SWIFT international payment system from which it has been cut off, but the digital ruble has a long way to go before it enters mainstream circulation.
When Vladimir Putin calls Ukraine an “artificial state,” he is largely projecting Russia’s own problems onto it. After all, the considerations that produced Russia’s current borders aren’t exactly transparent.
Russia’s nuclear development of the Arctic continues apace, but with the country cut off from regional cooperation initiatives and foreign funding, many worry it may struggle to respond to a nuclear emergency.
It might seem that within BRICS, Russia should be overshadowed by the giant economies of China and India, especially the former. Yet what is happening is almost the opposite, with Russia effectively taking over the leading role in the club.
Georgian Dream’s message that the parliamentary elections were a chance for Georgians to choose between war and peace clearly proved more convincing than the opposition’s narrative of a choice between Russia and the EU.
BRICS is emerging as a sandbox for experimentation with various non-USD instruments, including payment systems, cryptocurrencies, digitalized mechanisms for trade in national currencies or through barter, and hubs for commodities trading outside of dollar dominance.
A narrower-than-expected victory for pro-EU incumbent Maia Sandu chimes with Moldova’s electoral history and complex regional loyalties.
As BRICS has expanded its membership during the past year, it has grown to encompass nearly half of the world’s population, lending it greater credibility as a platform for reflecting an increasingly multipolar world. Yet despite this expansion, the group continues to face internal divisions.
The Georgian Dream party is stoking hopes among ordinary Georgians about the return of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Yet without Moscow’s approval, it’s impossible to imagine substantive negotiations taking place.
A central bank digital currency could provide Russia with an alternative to the SWIFT international payment system from which it has been cut off, but the digital ruble has a long way to go before it enters mainstream circulation.
