CIS

Kremlin planning has been shaped by contrasting visions of imperial restoration and Russian unity

Although Moscow wants to energise the Eurasian Economic Union, the bloc is disjointed and trades more with other states

A freight route via the Caucasus and Central Asia offers an alternative route from China to Europe

The government has a near-complete ban on grain sales ready but has not yet enacted it

Moscow has exploited a crisis in Kazakhstan by acting resolutely but with restraint, creating a new foreign policy tool

President Tokayev has told fellow post-Soviet leaders that Kazakhstan was targeted by an orchestrated coup plot

As the former Soviet space reels under COVID’s economic impact, more states are in conflict or political turmoil

The disease’s spread may have been delayed but sound contagion control policies are needed just as elsewhere