Russia Monitor Articles
Russia, Iran Forge Security Partnership
Russia and Iran have stepped up their military and security cooperation. Moscow provides Tehran with training and anti-riot equipment in exchange for weapons and drones. Officials from both states hold working visits. After Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev had met with his Iranian counterpart, more senior Iranian and Russian military and law enforcement agencies officials have been involved in a whirlwind of meetings and talks.
TotalEnergies, Shell Quit Joint Russian Energy Projects
Dozens of Europe’s biggest companies have abandoned their operations in Russia. But regulations and deals in force slow down the procedure of quitting the country. Importantly, Western firms abandon joint projects with both state-run and private companies throughout Russia.
Russia To Sell Petroleum Products To Pakistan Amid Saudi Fears
As the European Union introduced a ban on Russian oil, Moscow is diverting its crude from Europe to Asia. Now Russia will sell its crude to Pakistan. Moscow’s recent moves have deepened Saudi Arabia’s anxiety as the country has been the biggest oil supplier regionwide.
Turkey’s Erdogan Puts Pressure on Putin in Syria
Turkey has taken advantage of Russia’s uneasy situation amid its invasion of Ukraine, seeking to force Moscow into a pile of political and economic concessions. One example of that is Turkish efforts to block Russian oil tankers. The government in Ankara seems to prioritize its gains in Syria, notably in its clash with Syrian Kurds.
Russia Doubled Piped Gas Supplies to China
From January to October 2022, Russia sent $3.1 billion worth of piped natural gas to China, a 182 percent increase from 2021, the General Administration of Customs of China reported.
Russia, Algeria Forge Close Military Partnership
Algeria is forging ever-growing military ties with Russia through joint military drills and substantial arms supply deals. Moscow has many assets that attract Algeria while collaboration with Algeria solidifies Russian influence in northern Africa.
Lukoil Becomes Gazprom Neft’s Partner in Joint Venture with Repsol
The Russian energy market is seeing further reshuffles as Western companies quit the country, with domestic firms taking over their assets. Among those Russian companies is Lukoil, a privately run oil producer. Business decisions seem to have a political, rather than a financial background. Russia’s oil giant Lukoil has taken over assets in joint ventures between Western firms and Russian state-run companies.
CSTO Summit in Yerevan Was Bitter Pill for Putin
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Yerevan ended sourly as Armenia refused to sign a draft declaration due to the absence of a political assessment of Azerbaijan’s aggression against the territorial integrity of Armenia. This is yet another sign of Russia’s loosening grip on former Soviet republics.
Bulgaria Lets Russian Oil Refinery Export Despite EU Ban
Bulgaria’s government and Lukoil Neftochim Bulgaria have agreed that the country’s Black Sea refinery continues operating and exporting oil products to the EU until the end of 2024. This should provide a major boost to the Bulgarian budget. The deal makes Bulgaria a base for partially avoiding the European oil embargo.
Will Sanctions Force Russia to Rethink Its Oil Production Model?
Russian oil companies should invest more in developing smaller oil fields, according to Gennady Shmal, head of the Union of Russian Oil and Gas Producers. What might follow is a change in conditions for the benefit of small oil producers. Naturally, the Russian authorities did not become aware of their preferential treatment of large oil conglomerates, including tax breaks. Small companies were brought to the fore as the Russian energy sector is struggling amid sanctions imposed following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian State Duma Approves Bill to Ban “LGBT Propaganda”
Russian lawmakers passed a new law that bans what authorities call “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.” The proposals prohibit sharing positive and even neutral information about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and publicly displaying non-heterosexual orientations, referred to as “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations and (or) preferences, pedophilia, and sex change.” It is yet another element of the state narrative in which Moscow pushes conservative values.
Russia, West Locked in Crude War Amid Price Cap and Sanctions
The Kremlin is drafting a presidential decree that will prohibit Russian companies and any traders buying the nation’s oil from selling it to anyone that participates in a price cap, according to Bloomberg. The decree will forbid dealings with both companies and countries that join the price-cap mechanism. Meanwhile, a new date for EU talks is yet to be set even though the price cap mechanism is due to enter into force on December 5.
Russia Encounters Some Setbacks in Syria
The Russian military situation in Syria has become far more tense and complex due to three reasons. Firstly, Russia ordered the withdrawal of some of its troops despite its promise to back the al-Assad regime. Secondly, Turkey began targeting positions in the Russian-controlled region of Syria. Thirdly, Israeli forces have launched a bold campaign to target Syrian facilities linked to both Iran and Russia.
Russian Army Incurs Heavy Losses in Ukraine
It is now known why back in September Putin announced a partial mobilization throughout Russia. He planned to add new soldiers just to stabilize the front somehow. The Russian military turned those forcefully deployed into “cannon fodder” to either hinder Ukrainian assaults or cripple their defensive positions.
Warsaw Institute
