Russia

With the Black Sea grain export route closed, Russia is harassing Ukraine’s other water-borne traffic along the Danube

Kyrgyzstan remains closely aligned with Russia, although it is a majority project to promote the greater use of Kyrgyz

Offering Africa free grain is at variance with Russia resuming the Black Sea grain deal once its conditions are met

Anti-Kremlin blogger Strelkov has been charged with extremism just after calling Putin a cowardly mediocrity who must go

Russia has raised its main interest rate for the first time since February 2022 to try to curb inflationary pressures

The Wagner Group is in Belarus but may move its main effort to African countries, although how many is unclear

Though the July 2022 grain deal favoured Kyiv by letting it export by sea, Moscow has large stocks of unsold grain too

Trade within the Eurasian Economic Union substitutes for trade with the EU and helps reorientation towards Asia