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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Did Boris Yeltsin regret his decision of choosing Putin as his successor?
In a PBS documentary, Putin's revenge, the following is said at around 10m15s by Strobe Talbott.
Before Boris Yeltsin died, he told intimates that it was a great mistake to have selected Putin as a ...
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Did "Novorossiya" have a de facto control over its declared territory between 2014 and 2015?
Did the self-proclaimed "Novorossiya" have control over the territory it claimed during the time it existed (22 May 2014 to 20 May 2015)?
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What are “Russian nationalist military bloggers”?
In a recent article, Anger in Russia as scores of troops killed in one of Ukraine war's deadliest strikes. Polityuk, Pavel, there is a reference to “Russian nationalist military bloggers”.
One such ...
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Why are European countries increasing their defense budgets if they are members of a nuclear-armed NATO?
Mirror question to Why would Russia care about NATO troops on its borders if it has nuclear weapons?
Naively one would think that Russia should not worry about NATO because they have nuclear weapons. ...
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Why would it be in Russia's interests if the Nord Stream 1 was left unoperational? [duplicate]
Supply through NordStream-1 is disrupted. Accusations were made that Russia was responsible for it. If Russia indeed was responsible for it, how would that be in Russia's interest?
Destroying its own ...
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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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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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What are the possible mechanisms of security guarantees for Ukraine?
My question is based on this post by Radio Free Europe.
In a nutshell, there was a peace plan suggested that includes security guarantees for Ukraine. What are some reasonable mechanisms for such ...
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How can we estimate the real support of continued resistance among Ukrainian citizens?
Inspired by the question How can we estimate the real support of the war among Russian citizens? and discussion therein.
Is there an estimate how many Ukrainians (on Ukrainian-controlled territory, ...
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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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Is Bakhmut an important city in the Ukraine war, and if so, why?
Russia and Ukraine have been fighting over it for over 4 months. Is there a reason why the city seems to be considered important for the war? I heard analysts say that the city only has a symbolic ...
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What position exactly did Merkel express about the Minsk agreements in this December 2022 interview?
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel gave an interview to the Zeit - but the Zeit is paywalled and I don't speak German. In that interview, she supposedly said:
I thought that the introduction of ...
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Is the EU Border Guard Agency able to tell Russian passports issued in Ukraine or Georgia from the legitimate ones?
On 8 December 2022, the European Council has adopted a resolution on not accepting Russian travel documents issued in Ukraine and Georgia.
I'm wondering if the Frontex (European Border and Coast Guard ...
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Could the Kaliningrad region join the EU without becoming an independent state if a referendum or proposition is voted for by the people?
Through the scheme decided by the highest court with jurisdiction in and over Russia at the time, the European Court of Human Rights declared what the terrorist regime of Russia (see Parliamentary ...
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Why is ex-East Germany more tolerant towards Russia than many other ex Warsaw Pact countries?
I am happy to be corrected that this is not the case, but from fairly frequent news items it seems to me that sentiment towards Russia in historic East Germany isn't all that negative. Or at least is ...
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How does the indignation of the Russo-Ukrainian War compare to the Iraq War?
I was only born in 2001. I know London and DC had enormous protests, but none of the details. So eyewitness accounts are great but I need historical data too.
With the triumph of YouTube I can follow ...
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Would it be possible for NATO to intercept russian cruise missiles over the Ukraine from NATO airspace, and avoid becoming a party of the war? [closed]
In media reports and discussions, the impossibility of a no-fly zone was discussed since the current (2022) war in Ukraine started.
Basically, a no-fly zone would entail NATO jets shooting down ...
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Would a tit-for-tat retaliation against Russian civilian infrastructure be a violation of the Geneva convention?
Ukraine is currently suffering from a series of Russian attacks against civilian infrastructure, which might soon result in the entire country not having access to electricity. Does the Geneva ...
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What effects can the nuclear attack on a non-nuclear country have on the deterrence and nonproliferation?
The media occasionally mentions the possibility of the Russian Federation using a tactical nuclear bomb in Ukraine. The last and only case like that was back in August 1945, and after the Soviet Union ...
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What will be the practical implications if European Parliament designates Russian Federation a state sponsor of terrorism?
Today (as of the time this question is created) there will be a vote in the European Parliament on this. If the designation is supported, then I wonder what the practical implications will be if any.
...
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Does Snowden's Russian citizenship change his status internationally?
Edward Snowden was granted Russian citizenship in September 2022.
He is actively sought by the US authorities and I was wondering whether this new citizenship can help him should he be outside Russia. ...
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Are there Western double standards for international relations? [closed]
Russian diplomats often bring attention to the "West" often using double standards in the political evaluation of conflict.
As an example Crimea:
The 1974 Comorian independence referendum ...
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Why do many officials in Russia and Ukraine often prefer to speak of "the Russian Federation" rather than more simply "Russia"?
I've noticed that many officials in both Russia and Ukraine prefer to speak of "the Russian Federation" rather than more simply "Russia". (I believe most outside the former USSR ...
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Could the Russian Federation really have tested a nuclear weapon without anyone noticing? [closed]
In an interview with Kurbanova Live, Russian blogger and a former political scientist Valery Solovei has made the claim that the Russian Federation has performed a test of a nuclear weapon on November ...
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Would Sweden and Turkey as members of the NATO be a sort of follow-up on the 1739 Swedish-Ottoman alliance against the Empire of Russia? [closed]
From Wikipedia, 1739 in Sweden
Sweden form an alliance with the Ottoman Empire against the Empire of Russia. This is the first alliance between the Ottoman Empire and a Christian nation.
(This last ...
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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 exactly is the Valdai Discussion Club and has it been playing a role in the current geopolitical situation?
Having briefly browsed their website, I'm still not sure what exactly the Valdai Discussion club is. Who are its members, what do they do, and what role, if any, has it been playing in the Russian ...
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What can the Indian government do to help Indian students in Ukraine amid the war situation? [closed]
Indian students in Ukraine (mostly studying medicine) have been recently advised to return to India shortly after many of them went back to their Ukrainian universities. Many students had been ...
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Is Russia on the rise to become the new economic world power? Is the war situation paving a way towards it? [closed]
I want to understand the current stance of Russia & its future economic leadership potential. After listening to the speech by Putin at the recent Valdai Discussion Club (transcript attached), I'...
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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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Why is Russia still allowed to be in United Nations? [closed]
I've seen UN Sustainable Development Goals. They are all worthy of doing and lofty. Countries often impose those goals on the population by introducing regulation.
Meanwhile Russia seems to be against ...
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Why doesn't Russia have any share in the world's large passenger jet market? [closed]
I am talking about the pre-2014 situation of the Russian Federation, not sanction-ridden Russia.
The world's passenger jet market has only two players: Boeing and Airbus.
The Russian Federation has ...
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Who is the target audience of Russia's October 2022 claims about dirty bombs?
In recent days (October 2022), Russia has intensified claims that Ukraine is working on 'dirty' radioactive weapons, i.e. radioactive isotopes dispersed by conventional explosives. Who is the primary (...
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Any official Russian statement concerning Nord Stream sabotage?
On October 29, 2022, various European news agencies such as Reuters published articles claiming that the Russian Ministry of Defense had specifically accused UK special forces of sabotaging the Nord ...
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Are power plants legitimate military targets under international law?
I've seen clips and articles stating that recent Russian attacks on Ukrainian power plants amount to "War Crimes". This seems right to me but I couldn't find any resource explicitly ...
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Russia re-integration into the West possible? [closed]
After the Russo-Ukrainian war ends, what is the probability for Russia, or territories from former Russia, to re-integrate with the West (e.g. pre-Russian Revolution) and what steps would be necessary ...
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Will NATO act on article 5 if Russia attacks west of Ukraine with nuclear weapons? [duplicate]
If Russia attacks west of Ukraine with nuclear weapons, the radiations may reach neighboring countries like Poland or Romania.
In this case, the area of the neighboring country will be hit by the ...
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What reasons were given for the region-based funding of Russian recruitment/mobilization drives?
This is a bit superseded by the recent partial mobilization in Russia, but I am still a bit confused by Russian federal subjects (regions) being asked to fund recruitment.
(July 30th) Russia is ...
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What is the scientific definition of the current social/economic order of Russian Federation?
It may be some specific kind of capitalism, because the private property still exists. But I am puzzled by the absence of the democracy, free press, multiple parties, democratic elections - something ...
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What is the logic behind Putin's nuclear mobilization? [closed]
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-nuclear-weapons-train-video/
https://nypost.com/2022/10/03/putin-deploys-worlds-largest-submarine-nuclear-convoy/
Putin is mobilizing his strategic nuclear weapons ...
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How could SpaceX prevent military use of their satellites while preserving free speech absolutism?
According to Western media, citing Russian officials, Russia has somewhat transparently threatened to attack SpaceX satellites.
September 19, 2022
A Russian representative named Konstantin Vorontsov ...
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What is behind Ukraine's unwavering stance regarding the outcome of the war [closed]
With the exception of March when Ukraine wasn't so sure it could fend off what seemed like a relentless Russian advance and was thus willing to make quite a few concessions, its position regarding the ...
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What does the West gain by not letting Russia swallow Ukraine? [closed]
I sort of get the official reasons why the West did not just let Russia to just swallow Ukraine:
Invading other countries and taking what's not yours is bad (even if some of it used to be yours in ...
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Why would Russia damage their own gas pipelines?
Much the West has accused Russia of being behind the damage the pipelines in the Baltic Sea providing gas to Europe.
However, why would they do this? If they wanted to deprive Europe of gas, could ...
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Would it be possible for Russia to "unannex" parts of Ukraine?
How easy is it now for Russia to undo their annexation of the parts of Ukraine that they recently took or at least laid claim to? e.g. if there was a change of leadership to someone not in favour of ...
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How is the Chinese officialdom, press, or intelligentsia discussing Russia's possible use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war?
It's certainly known that the Chinese press and officials have openly blamed NATO and the USA more specifically for the war in Ukraine.
On the other hand, China officially has a "no first use&...
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Has NATO recently threatened to nuke Russia?
In his 2022-09-21 speech (archived copy with https here), Putin referred to
statements made by some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO countries on the possibility and admissibility of ...
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Why would Gazprom operate (the maintenance of) TurkStream through a Dutch subsidiary?
According to Gazprom (as quoted by RFERL) the Dutch government has suspended the license of South Stream Transport B.V., which apparently is a Gazprom subsidiary registered in the Netherlands. South ...
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Does Gazprom or Russia confirm that one of the Nord Stream 2 pipes is still (theoretically) operational after the recent pipe breakage incidents? [closed]
According to the New York Times, during the recent mystery events, both pipes of Nord Stream 1 were severed, whereas only one of Nord Stream 2's pair was.
Does Gazprom or Russia confirm this state of ...
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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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