All Policy Analysis by Anna Borshchevskaya

On June 7, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed controversial anti-terrorism legislation known in Russia as the "Yarovaya law," named after its leading co-author, prominent member of Putin's United Russia party Irina Yarovaya. The law is reminiscent of Soviet-era surveillance. It will also likely contribute to crippling the Russian economy. According

Moscow only agreed to the nuclear deal out of self-interest, and the JCPOA has allowed Russia to expand ties with Iran while positioning itself as a regional counterweight to the West.

Assess how the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement with Iran, has affected various U.S. interests one year after its announcement on July 14, 2015.

The Kremlin's expressions of sympathy mask its blatantly homophobic policies at home, which are unlikely to change anytime soon given the government's need for conservative straw men.

Two Washington Institute experts share their findings from recent visits to Russia, where they discussed a wide range of regional issues with current and former officials, leading analysts, and other citizens.

The two countries will likely continue to cooperate, especially on the economic and military fronts, but Putin's assertive anti-Westernism could still pose problems for Israel in Syria and elsewhere.

If Washington continues to employ inadequate military pressure, Russia and its supposedly 'withdrawn' forces will have several paths to bolster their position in Syria while undermining U.S. credibility and influence.

Two experts discuss Russia's increasingly assertive regional policy and what it means for American and allied interests. Read a summary or watch video of the full event.

Putin's regime is less stable than meets the eye, and Russia's future remains uncertain.

In addition to Moscow's purposeful ambiguity about the true scope of its withdrawal from Syria, the announcement's timing reflects Putin's intention to force favorable terms in the latest peace talks.

Since becoming president in 2000, Vladimir Putin has reinvigorated Russia's Middle East ties, a trend underscored by his bold military intervention in the Syria crisis. Through these and other regional moves, he has sought to gain ground at the West's expense while bolstering the Kremlin's legitimacy against domestic pressures --

Some analysts have voiced disagreement with the view that Damascus and Moscow are truly at odds.

However difficult it might be to implement safe zones after years of inaction, the humanitarian disaster will only grow without them, as will the threat to regional and European stability.

For such zones to succeed, they must be backed with militarily enforced no-fly zones and a persuasive response to Moscow's inevitable small-scale violations and disinformation campaign.

Understand the policy implications of humanitarian safe havens, safe zones, buffers, or no-fly zones in Syria with these assessments of the who, what, where, why, and how of the various options.

On 11 December 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the Russian Defense Ministry's expanded board meetings, where he said, for the first time according to Western press reports, that Russia is helping the Free Syrian Army -- an opponent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia has supported Assad unequivocally since

Moscow's decision to intervene in Syria is spurring further radicalization and terrorist recruitment among Russian Muslims, and the government's response at home and abroad has not helped the situation.

On 23 November Kirill Martynov, Novaya Gazeta’s (New Newspaper) politics and economics editor, wrote about Russia’s official debate on terrorism, which took place on 20 November—the first joint Duma and Federation Council meeting since Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The accompanying excerpts are from his article. Novaya Gazeta is one of

On 18 November liberal-leaning radio program Echo Moskvy (Moscow’s Echo) hosted Russian political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky on an approximately hour-long talk show, Personally Yours, with host Alexei Naryshkin to discuss Russia’s intervention in Syria. The accompanying excerpts are from the show transcript, posted on the radio’s web-site. Belkovsky made several