Questions tagged [russian-federation]
For questions about or involving the Russian Federation, successor of the Soviet Union. Located in Eurasia, Russia is the largest country by land mass, and it operates as a semi-presidential republic. For questions about the Soviet Union (USSR), use tag: [soviet-union].
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Is there any significance of India's "strategic partnership" with Poland to geopolitics?
India and Poland, in a joint statement, have declared establishment of a strategic partnership.
If I recall correctly, this is the first time India has established a strategic partnership with a ...
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Who became an oligarch after the collapse of the USSR
I quickly read the biographies and history of famous Russian oligarchs (Chubais and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semibankirschina). This is a small sample, but I got the impression that the “tidbit” ...
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What is Wagner part of--officially--these days?
I've seen (somewhat) conflicting claims. Wikipedia claims it's officially part of the National Guard of Russia since 2023. For this it cites the Russian [expat] opposition website Meduza. But that ...
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Has Wagner (or "Africa Corps") produced (any) sizeable wins against Islamists in Africa?
The Western press was apparently keen to report a sizeable failure of Wagner in Africa. (It seems they've been renamed 'Africa Corps' after Prigozhin's demise, but I'm not entirely sure since in some ...
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Why do Western countries seem to think Russia would rather be defeated than use nuclear weapons?
Latest example: UK urges China to prevent its companies supporting Russia's military.
Suppose China stops its companies from supporting Russia's military. The UK's desired outcome appears to be:
...
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Russia's Nuclear Missile Locations and International Relations [closed]
What publicly available information exists about the current locations of Russia's nuclear missiles, and how has this information influenced recent international relations or treaties?
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What would Russia have to gain from building a reliable security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region?
HANOI, June 20 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said he
wanted to build a "reliable security architecture" in the Asia-Pacific
region during a state visit to Vietnam on Thursday, ...
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Why do neither the UK government nor the OPCW release what agent was used for the Salisbury/Amesbury attacks?
For the purposes of this question please assume that the UK / OPCW story is largely true. Any answers along the lines of it being a false flag operation are off topic for this question.
In 2018 there ...
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What is the logic (if any) behind Nigel Farage's claim that the west provoked Putin to invade Ukraine?
In this interview Nigel Farage states "I think the West historically , up until a few year ago, provoked Putin stupidly. I felt the ever, ever eastward expansion of NATO and the EU was giving ...
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Does the Ukrainian treatment of a Russian deserter differ from a Russian combatant that surrenders?
I am curious about the fate of Russian deserters in Ukraine. If you desert the Russian military and surrender yourself in Ukraine as a Russian, are you granted any status in Ukraine? Are you subject ...
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What would a tactical nuke strike actually look like? [closed]
When the conversations about a possible tactical nuke strike by Russia on Ukraine go, I usually see the headline threats by Putin or some other top officials. The rest is basically "this would ...
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How does the June 2024 Ukraine peace summit hope to achieve peace, if Russia is not invited?
There's going to be a peace summit in Switzerland in June 2024 to "conduct high-level discussion on a 'comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine' in the context of international law and ...
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Does Germany have a strict definition of what a military target is as it allows Western-supplied weapons to strike military targets in Russia?
German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck has said he regrets that the
government led by Olaf Scholz did not allow Ukraine to deploy
Western-supplied weapons to strike military targets in Russia sooner.
...
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Is there any treaty that forbids the use of nuclear weapons in open air?
May 29 (Reuters) - A senior member of a Russian think tank whose ideas
sometimes become government policy has suggested Moscow consider a
"demonstrative" nuclear explosion to cow the West ...
user28660
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How did Russia manage to get $300 billion of assets trapped in the West? [duplicate]
G7 aims to use frozen Russian assets to help 'desperate' Ukraine
STRESA, Italy May 25 (Reuters) - The G7 will explore ways to use the future income from frozen Russian assets to boost funding for war-...
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Why has NATO ignored Russia moving Estonian buoys?
According to the Estonian Police and Border Guard, Russia has moved the buoys from Narva River
https://www.politsei.ee/en/news/border-guard-of-the-russian-federation-removed-light-buoys-from-narva-...
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Why did the Iranian president use an old American helicopter?
Why did the Iranian president use such an old helicopter, and for which, being American-made, there were difficulties in procuring spare parts? Why Iran is not buying new Chinese or Russian ...
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Has Putin ever visited Tanya Savicheva's memorial? [closed]
(Not sure if this should be on the History SE)
Tanya Savicheva's memorial is apparently well-known in St. Petersburg, which is also where Putin grew up, so he is presumably aware of its existence. Has ...
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Is a tactical nuclear strike against a military target different on a legal standpoint than a tactical nuclear strike against a civilian target?
Putin has faced calls inside Russia from some hardliners to change
Russia's nuclear doctrine, which sets out the conditions under which
Russia would use a nuclear weapon, though Putin said last year ...
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How does Russia exactly define Russian territory in its state policy?
These Basic Principles represent a strategic planning document in the area of ensuring defence and reflect the official view on the
essence of nuclear deterrence, identify military risks and threats ...
user28660
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How did Gazprom lose money (in 2023)?
With Nord Stream Shut, Gazprom Posts its Biggest Lost in Two Decades
May 2, 2024
Gazprom made more than $22 billion in net profit in 2021, the last year before the war. That dropped to $13 billion in ...
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What prevents Russia from mimicking the Iranian attack against Israel? [closed]
A question that has been bugging me for a while is: why hasn't Russia tested NATO unity by carrying a relatively harmless or deniable attack against a NATO member? Though until recently I imagined ...
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Why is there increased fear of Russia's attack against Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia after the invasion of Ukraine started?
Many fear that Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia states will be attacked next if Russia succeeds in Ukraine. But why was there no such fear before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine? Is Russia supposed to ...
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Why has Russia made surprisingly little use of its Air Force in the Russo-Ukrainian war?
Russia has vastly more warplanes than Ukraine does, and its warplanes have suffered only comparatively light casualties in the Russo-Ukrainian war. And, NATO forces have not been willing to put their ...
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How could it be that the head of a Russian region asks officials to pay off debts of its residents?
As someone who has learned Russian, I read news from Russian news agencies from time to time, and one of them is TASS, a state-owned news agency, which has recently published a news article that left ...
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As of 2024, how can Russia escalate the war in Ukraine?
According to this answer for the question Why do Western countries not send more powerful weapons to Ukraine?, Western countries are reluctant also out of fear of conflict escalation:
It is not in ...
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Why are there no "calls for Putin to act with tremendous restraint" in response to a terror attack, but many for Netanyahu?
Re 2024Mar Crocus City Hall attack, Ben Shapiro told Piers Morgan: "I don't see a lot of calls for Putin to act with tremendous restraint". See starting 15:11 in Piers Morgan vs Ben Shapiro |...
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How much control does Putin have over the nomination process of the judges to the Supreme Court in Russia?
A university classmate of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been
named the sole candidate being considered to take on the role of chief
justice of Russia’s Supreme Court, the Russian Agency of ...
user28660
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Why did Russia and China veto the recent UN resolution for a ceasefire?
Reuters reported that Russia and China vetoed the UN resolution proposed by US for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Given that their apparent stance was pro-ceasefire recently (just like the ...
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Why do Polish people view Russia unfavorably?
Poles hold the most negative views of Russia among all countries
included in a new global survey by the Pew Research Center, which also
shows that attitudes towards the United States, NATO and the ...
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Why do Russians vote when the elections are rigged?
An election recount is underway in one Russian district after
President Vladimir Putin failed to win the vote there, according to
local reports.
In fact, one of Putin's political rivals in the recent ...
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Why French Action on Ukraine seems so Disconnected from Macron Speech?
In the last few months, French President Macron has repeatedly said that Europe should avoid that Russia win the war with Ukraine see for instance. Also envisaging the send of NATO troops to Ukraine.
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Does Ukraine now have access to the Bosporus?
I see contradictory reports on the Internet. Opinions and news seem to have two focal points:
Russia has gotten out of the "grain deal", making it impossible for Ukrainian ships to leave ...
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Is it true that Netanyahu did not make any (negative) statements about the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
Russian FM Lavrov said in an interview that he was shocked that former Israeli PM Lapid criticized Russia about their attempts to demilitarize Ukraine (and subsequent "annexation"), when ...
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What's the basis for the rumors that Macron takes cocaine? [closed]
There's a French "observer" to the Russian election who says
I think Macron and Zelensky take too much cocaine, and they should stop.
So, since the Zelensky angle has been covered before ...
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Have any Western analysts explained how the crimes for which the ICC recently indicted two Russian commanders, differ from the bombing of Serbia?
Personally I was a bit surprised that the ICC indicted two Russian commanders for the long-range missile attacks in Ukraine, rather than e.g. for the more clear war crimes in Bucha etc.
On Tuesday, ...
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What is the official reason for the low error rate of the 100k signature requirement for presidential candidates in Russia
In Russia, you need 100.000 signatures to be allowed to run for presidency. However, if I understood the article below correctly, only 105.000 signatures may be turned in. While the minimal support is ...
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Has Russia clarified what crimes it charges against the judges of the ICC?
Back in September 2023:
Russia’s ministry of internal affairs has placed International Criminal Court (ICC) President Piotr Hofmański on its wanted list, according to the ministry’s online database.
...
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Did Iceland suffer any backlash from Russia when it recognized the regained independence of the three Baltic Republics?
At the initiative of Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson, Minister for Foreign
Affairs, Iceland was the first country to recognize the regained
independence of the three Baltic Republics, Estonia, Latvia and
...
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What is the rationale behind building an expensive and inefficient nuclear power plant on the moon? [closed]
Russia's space agency chief Yuri Borisov said that Russia and China consider putting a nuclear power plant on the Moon in 2033-2035.
Trouble is that on the moon there is no atmosphere and too little ...
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Ukraine-Russia - Do relevant world organizations provide an effective negotiation-center for this one, or have a suitable focus on doing so? [closed]
Ukraine-Russia - Do relevant world organizations provide an effective negotiation-center for this one, or have a suitable focus on doing so ?
Maybe the core features of a negotiation-center, would be -...
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Why do people in Central Asia view Russia in a positive light?
Available polling indicates that public opinion on the war is divided
in Central Asia; many in the region continue to perceive Russia
favorably. In one poll conducted in May and June 2022, 86% of ...
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Why would Russia want to avoid a "disabling" arms race with the West?
This strategic reality will prompt the new Russian leadership, of
whatever composition and persuasion, to initiate a de-escalation of
tensions in its Nordic-Baltic neighborhood in order to avoid a
...
user28660
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Why Russia is not launching another attack from the north on Ukraine? [closed]
Recently, Russia has made progress in the war in the eastern four provinces of Ukraine. However, what puzzles me is why Russia is not launching further offensives near Belgorod and Kharkiv, leaving ...
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Which European countries have laws that closely resemble the Russian law against discrediting the armed forces?
European countries have a more restrictive interpretation of free speech than the US in some regards, e.g. many criminalize Holocaust denial etc.
Are there some European countries whose laws (in that ...
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Why did the West impose sanctions on Russia for the death of Navalny, but not on Ukraine for the death of Lira?
The attention that Navalny got from US and EU governments, politicians and mass media was significantly more pronounced, than when Gonzalo Lira died in captivity, in a Ukrainian jail. Considering that ...
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To what extent are Russia and China cooperating instead of competing in Central Asia to increase their influence in the region?
Thanks to an influx of investment and a sharp surge in transit
volumes, additional funds have begun to flow into the budgets of the
Central Asian countries. This has led not only to economic growth, ...
user28660
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Have household savings in Russia increased since 2022? [closed]
We had a bit of a discussion on a recent question whether Russian workers are being "enriched" by the war.
In the US, during WW2 here was rationing etc., which resulted in reduced ...
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Two years after the breakout of Ukraine war, is/how is Russia successful in sustaining its economy (now even growing?) and the war?
Since 2022, Russia has received huge amount of Western economic sanctions. The war itself is money-burning.
I understand that war may stimulate military-related economy as explained in this VOA ...
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Is the requirement of being aligned with the EU's foreign policy in order to join it written into law?
The threat Russia poses in the Western Balkans should not be
exaggerated. Virulent nationalist rhetoric aside, Serbia is not
beholden to the Kremlin but rather is hedging its bets, as it has done
for ...
user28660