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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Are there military arguments why the Russia would blow up the Kakhovka dam?
With the similar question with few answers about Ukraine hanging, looks reasonable to get puzzled if Russia, very differently, really had totally no reason to do this. Please include sources for the ...
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Are there military arguments why the Ukraine would blow up the Kakhovka dam?
Today the Dniepro river dam at Kakhovka was breached. It is not obvious which side is responsible. The warring sides blame each other, but the reasons they give seem to me to differ in persuasiveness.
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Why had Soviet Union always sided with India?
Soviet Union and present day Russia is always regarded as close ally of India.
It is well demonstrated by the 6 Soviet vetoed UN resolutions against India.
Even when India declared it's policy of non-...
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Is there any evidence suggesting or refuting that Russian officials knowingly lied that Russia was not going to attack Ukraine?
Before the Russian full-scale attack on Ukraine, a number of Russian officials made statements to assuage fears of an imminent invasion:
Washington — Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly ...
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How can we estimate the real support of the war among Russian citizens?
I've read that up to 70% of Russian citizens support an ongoing invasion to some extent. But these numbers were coming from government-affiliated organizations (VCIOM etc.); I think one can't really ...
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Why is Russia not using nuclear weapons against Ukraine?
Russia is suffering from the cost of war in both blood, money, and resources. The sanctions hurts their economy and the international condemnation hurts their reputation and pride. All of this will ...
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How would a neutral observer compare the presence of US nukes in Europe to the presence of Russian nukes in Belarus?
USA in Germany
Germany has no nuclear weapons of its own, but it stores 20 or fewer U.S. B-61 nuclear gravity bombs at Büchel air base, and maintains a fleet of aging Tornado fighter bombers to ...
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Which entities do have both a motive and a capability of disrupting Nord Stream?
Although the circumstances of the recent leaks in the North Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea near Bornholm are still not totally clear, the temporal coincidence of multiple leaks suggest that some ...
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Why is deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus seen as a problem, and how would this help Russia?
Recently (May 2023) Russia decided to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus. This has been reported in many sources. At least Russia represents this as a serious escalation, something that they were "...
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What caused a drastic reduction in the population of ethnic Tatars in the Russian Federation?
I compared the Russian census of 2010 to the recently released census of 2020/2021.
Ethnic group
2010,#n by pop
2010,population
2021,population
2010..2021,pop change
2010..2021change, %
Tatars
2
5,...
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Based on International law, to what extent can Ukraine take aggressive military action within the territory of Russia?
I wonder, based on international law, if Ukraine takes aggressive military action in the territory of Russia, such as occupying some cities of Russia (I am not considering Donbas, Luhansk and Crimea ...
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Which countries are affected by Russia's decree banning oil sales to them?
Vladimir Putin bans Russian oil exports to countries that imposed price cap over Ukraine war
President Vladimir Putin has delivered Russia's long-awaited response to a Western price cap, signing off ...
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How effective are lawyers and NGOs (like Soldiers Mothers, Peaceplea and Conscript's School) in securing the rights of the mobilized in Russia?
After the start of the first mobilizations in Russia, a couple of organisations were created to help mobilized people to either escape military service or acquire them non-combat roles:
https://...
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Does the US government consider a prolonged war in Ukraine as a geopolitical advantage for the US against Russia?
According to Washington Post, the US government is asking Ukraine to be more open to negotiations with the current Russian regime:
The Biden administration is privately encouraging Ukraine’s leaders ...
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What is the political justification by China and India for not participating in the sanctions against Russia?
China and India are not participating in the sanctions imposed by the Western world on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. This has effectively made the sanctions much less effective, compared to what ...
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How many Ukrainian language schools were still open in Crimea in 2021 compared to 2013?
Russia often complains about the treatment of Russian minorities abroad, especially in Ukraine. But how did they treat the Ukrainian minority themselves?
E.g. how many Ukrainian language schools are ...
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How is Russia able to maintain the 2nd most powerful military in the world at a fraction of the cost of the US & China?
The 2020 Military Strength Rankings list Russia's military as #2 in strength:
United States
Russia
China
However, their defense budget rankings show that Russia's only #8 in spending:
United States ...
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How did Russia retain the UNSC veto power of the Soviet Union?
I am not sure what the criteria are to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council, but I do wonder how did Russia manage to keep its veto power after the dissolution of the Soviet Union?
I ...
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What is the legal background for Russia's seat as a Permanent Member of UNSC?
At the UN's founding in 1945, the Soviet Union became one of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
When in December 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, the Russia was arguably recognized ...
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Was there any war Russia has ignited that was NOT explained by its "support" of a newly-created bogus puppet state (e.g. "People's Republic")?
History
This excerpt of a Russian newspaper says:
[…] On December 4 {1939}, comrade Molotov has telegraphed to Avenol. In his answer, he stated that there are no reasons for raising "Finnish ...
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What did Putin mean by "We have [...] withdrawn almost all large and heavy weapons from the European part of Russia" in a 2008 interview?
From a 2008 press conference:
We have eliminated bases in Cam Ranh (Vietnam) and in Cuba. We have withdrawn our troops deployed in eastern Europe, and withdrawn almost all large and heavy weapons ...
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Why does Russia see NATO as an aggressor when the Istanbul document signed by Russia grants each participant the right to chose its allies separately?
The Istanbul document was a declaration signed in 1999 by Russia and Ukraine. Its legal character is similar to that of the Declaration of Human rights.
It contains the following paragraph:
We ...
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Why is it claimed that Russia might have to evacuate Crimea if Ukraine gets to the Sea of Azov?
In many analysis of Ukraine's likely axis of attack, it often gets claimed that Ukraine will try to push on the southern region, to the Sea of Azov, next to Mariupol. Thus cutting Kherson/Crimea off ...
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Have any current Western politicians expressed concerns about a possible alliance between China and Russia?
We are currently witnessing a new conflict between Russia and the West, which some people have compared to a new Cold War. Additionally, the relations between China and the West are not as good as ...
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How much has Russia paid Ukraine for gas transiting through Ukraine to Europe in 2022?
How much has Russia paid Ukraine, in non-Ruble currency, for the gas transiting through Ukraine to EU in 2022?
How were the transfers accomplished? SWIFT?
Which entity was debited, and which entity ...
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What factors result in the West being more accepting of India's neutrality over the Ukraine war than China's?
Both India and China remain Russian allies, both countries account for similar amounts of Russia's crude exports, both have refused to condemn the Ukraine war, both countries joined Russia's Vostok ...
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What can be the reasons or advantages for Russia's candid admission of their own fighter dropping ordnance over Belgorod instead of blaming Ukraine?
Today, a report came up about a Russian attack aircraft dropping ordnance over Belgorod, causing a crater 40m wide in one of the central streets of the city. Some reports indicate that this was an ...
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How did Turkmenistan "destroy its relationship with Russia’s Gazprom in 2008"?
According to one Carnegie article (seemingly penned by a Uzbek political analyst/scientist):
After Ashgabat destroyed its relationship with Russia’s Gazprom in 2008, only China remained as the major ...
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How politically aligned with Moscow has the Russian Orthodox Church's position on the Russo-Ukrainian War been since it started in 2014?
The Hill's Pope blasts Russia’s ‘infantile’ war says:
Francis has to date avoided referring to Russia or Putin by name. But Saturday’s personalization of the powerful figure responsible marked a new ...
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Exit strategies for the Ukraine war
[Remark three months later, Aug 24, 2022: The question seems as pressing as ever. The conflict has indeed turned into a text book war of attrition, with neither side being able to make a decisive move....
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"America is a marshmallow" statement from president Putin in 2016 after Trump was elected [closed]
I am looking for more information on a quote that I heard in 2016 and barely remember.
After President Trump was elected in 2016, a reporter on a NPR news program mentioned that Putin mentioned in a ...
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Why would Russia care about NATO troops on its borders if it has nuclear weapons?
In a related question on why Russia is against Ukraine joining the EU, @user4012 writes the following:
Basically, Russia has no natural defensive perimeter of its core. Thus, its permanent strategy ...
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Why did Denmark, Sweden, and Germany reject a joint investigation offered by Russia?
Why did Denmark, Sweden, and Germany reject a joint investigation offered by Russia regarding the explosion of the NordStream pipeline?
What are their respective problems?
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How can Russia enforce the Wikimedia fines?
There have been quite a few articles online (such as this one) about the Russian government issuing fines to the Wikimedia foundation for not taking down Wikipedia pages on the war in Ukraine. These ...
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What is the pacifist position on Ukraine?
What/who are the prominent pacifist movements/organizations/thinkers in the 21st century, and what is their position on the conflict in Ukraine?
Much of the public and political discussion about the ...
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Why would Putin refer to Lukashenko as Potato Moose?
I'm unsure whether my question is on-topic, but I learn Russian and got really curious when reading a Radio France Internationale article of September 2021 written in Russian and quoting a Russian ...
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Has the conflict in Ukraine provoked an increase in discrimination against ethnic Russians?
Is there increase in discrimination or intolerance towards ethnic Russians since the beginning of the military conflict in Ukraine? I am particularly interested in the data on Eastern Europe (former ...
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Is the US support for Ukraine significantly because of Biden
Is US's position on Ukraine significantly the result of Biden himself?
On other questions, I keep reading assumptions - stated or not - that the US supports Ukraine only because Biden does.
On the ...
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Why did Russia started war with Ukraine? [closed]
As you know when Russia declared war on Ukraine many countries had declared embargo on Russia.
And Russia didnt want to annex Ukraine completly or even making Ukraine Puppet.
So why is Russia declared ...
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Are the UK, Germany and USA not concerned about their (donated) tanks being captured and researched by Russia?
It has been well established that several NATO countries are donating armoured vehicles (and training crews) to Ukraine. Some of the more notable vehicles that are being delivered include the American ...
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Would Finland's joining NATO be a violation of the 1947 Treaty of Paris?
Articles like this one by the Atlantic Council suggest that Finland and Sweden are going to join NATO and give up their neutrality. However would Finland's joining NATO not violate the 1947 Treaty of ...
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What is the basis for Russia calling the ICC "the puppet of the West"?
Citing it straight from the horse's mouth, @ Tass
The International Criminal Court (ICC), which is ready to exercise pseudo-justice on the orders of the West, has proved its inferiority, Russian ...
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Why do anti-Western politicians wear Western suits? [duplicate]
Whenever I see press releases about China or Russia I am always puzzled that Putin and Xi (and everyone below them) wear suits in Western style despite their anti-Western sentiments. The dominance of ...
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Did the Iraqi central government explicitly object to (or approve of) any deals by Russian oil & gas companies with the Kurdish Regional Government?
According to al-Jazeera, citing various (alas unnamed Russian and Kurdish diplomats/officials), Russia financially "saved" the KRG at a crucial time, by having its major oil/gas companies ...
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What is Russia's stated military strategy in Ukraine as of early 2023?
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. After a short initial phase of the invasion, in which Russia's forces advanced quickly but did not take stable control of a lot of area and gradually met stiff ...
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What's the point of issuing an arrest warrant for Putin given that the chances of him getting arrested are effectively zero?
As per recent news:
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant
for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in
Ukraine, a move dismissed by Moscow as ...
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What is the rationale of shooting toxic shells in an area that was meant to be liberated?
The UK authorities confirmed that they will provide depleted uranium shells to the Ukraininan forces.
As usual to divert the attention from the metal toxicity they pointed out the low radioactivity. ...
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Why is the ICC focusing on the transfer of war orphans to Russia rather than Russia's much more obvious crimes in Ukraine?
As per the official press release by the ICC:
Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, born on 7 October 1952, President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful ...
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Why is the US under Biden so strongly supporting Ukraine in the war?
Why is the US supporting Ukraine so massively?
Hardly a week goes by without some kind of aid package from the US to Ukraine. Clearly, the support is designed to continue the war and the extent of the ...
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Why does Russia always put importance on world dominance rather than economic development?
For instance, China has also put importance on military muscle, but not with the price of the economy.
The following graph shows that Russia's GDP is falling and China's GDP has rocketed.
The ...
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