The geopolitics of Russia and the wider Black Sea region

Examining Russia’s changing relationships with Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and other countries in the Black Sea region.

Nowhere is the effect of the Russo-Ukrainian war stronger than in the region sometimes referred to as ‘Eurasia’ or the ‘post-Soviet states’. The war has impacted Russia’s influence and revised international trade routes. The shifting power balances must be understood, as Russia’s relationships in its immediate neighbourhood are changing.
 
Focus:  

  • The impact of the war on Russia’s relationship with the independent states that were controlled by Moscow over 30 years ago.
  • Russia-Turkey relations and Black Sea security.
  • Impact on the regional economies, including the influx of Russian money into other countries on the region.
  • How is Moscow using the countries of the region to re-organize its trade routes and bypass sanctions?
  • How Russia leverages and influences Russian and Russian-speaking diasporas in the neighborhood?  
  • Looking at interactions and synergies between Ukraine and Moldova.