In July 2015, the SCO and BRICS held their simultaneous summits in Ufa. The main result of those summits was the conclusion of agreements on the creation of the BRICS contingent reserve and the establishment of the New Development Bank. Another major event of July was the so-called Iran Nuclear...

In December, President of Russia Vladimir Putin delivered the Annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly. During the traditional press conference he expressed his approval of the policies pursued by the RF Government and the Bank of Russia, noting that the current situation was...

In April 2013, rumors of the RF Government's impending sacking suddenly became much more than simply rumors after Vladimir Putin had announced that this option was now on the table. He made that statement at a government meeting at Elista, and the corresponding footage of the event was then...

The shooting down of a Russian bomber by a Turkish warplane at the Turkey-Syria border has led to a sharp increase in international tensions. Russia has slammed Turkey with economic sanctions, which can likewise be damaging to the Russian economy because of Russia's huge trade surplus with...

The RF Government finalized the main parameters of Russia's budget for 2016 – in the coming year, Russia's defense spending will remain at a very high level, while social expenditures will be notably cut (pensions will be raised at less than the rate of inflation, while the wages of budget...

The main political and economic events experienced by Russia in September 2015 were the single voting day – the final one before the federal elections to be held next year, and the beginning of Russia's military operation in Syria, officially approved by the RF Federation Council by...

The situation in eastern Ukraine and Russian-Ukrainian interstate relations saw a certain de-escalation in June 2014. In particular, Russia recognized new Ukrainian President P. Poroshenko. However, the situation remains to be tense. The east Ukrainian armed groups cannot see how they may exist...

The situation in Ukraine ratcheted up sharply in April 2014 in the Dontesk and Lugansk Regions, where armed insurgents seized the regional administration buildings. Negotiations in Geneva between officials from Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and the European Union came to an agreement on...

In December, the Russian authorities made several symbolic gestures designed to sway public opinion both at home and abroad in favor of their policies. Thus, they pardoned Michail Khodorkovsky, Russia's number one political prisoner, and declared a large-scale amnesty marking the 20th...

In June 2015, the EU states extended for another six months the economic sanctions introduced against Russia, as before linking this issue to the fulfillment of the Minsk agreements. At the St Petersburg International Economic Forum held this month, several deals were concluded, the biggest...