Russia

As the ice thins in the Arctic, the commercial feasibility of the northern sea route is increasing rapidly. Five years ago there was no activity; this year about 1.5 million tonnes of cargo will be transported through the NSR.

• Arvind Gupta
• August 27, 2013
• IDSA Comments

With the successful holding of the fifth summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) in Durban during March 26–27, 2013, this influential group of emerging economies completed its first important phase of genesis and evolution. The idea was floated in 2001 as an ‘acronym’ created by an investment banker of Goldman Sachs, Jim O'Neil who believed that the fast-growing economies of Brazil, Russia, China and India would be the single greatest game changers in coming times.

• Swaran Singh
• July 2013
• Strategic Analysis

It was the privately-sponsored Russian expedition to the North Pole in August 2007 that opened a new competitive era in Arctic geopolitics, and the technologically elegant PR-trick with planting the flag into the crisscross point of meridians on the depth of 4,261 m produced a resonance that distorted strategic thinking about, and political interactions in the Arctic region.

• Pavel K. Baev
• July 2013
• Strategic Analysis

The Cyprus crisis has highlighted the existing geopolitical fissures between Russia and the European Union and raised the proverbial ‘east vs. west’ conundrum. President’s Putin’s Eurasian Economic Union project and Russia’s growing engagement with countries of Asia indicate the turning of wheels.

• Rajorshi Roy
• June 14, 2013
• Backgrounder

The military sector reform is a top priority for Vladimir Putin, who believes that these reforms will go a long way in achieving Russia’s military and comprehensive national power objectives. The on-going military reforms have come a long way since they were first introduced in 2008. Most of the structural reforms have already been implemented. The material reforms, which are necessary to ensure that the structural reforms deliver, are progressing well, notwithstanding difficulties such as corruption, availability of limited resources, and recession.

• Amit Kumar
• May 23, 2013
• Issue Brief

A global vision based on sustainable resource use for global prosperity can also overcome trust deficit within the BRICS grouping.

• Mukul Sanwal
• April 12, 2013
• IDSA Comments

BRICS is not challenging the existing world order. It is seeking a place in the sun for developing countries. It is looking at alternative approaches but there is no desire to seek confrontation with the West.

• Arvind Gupta
• April 01, 2013
• IDSA Comments

Now that NAM is defunct and very little wealth is left in the Commonwealth, and given that the G-20 has a set parameter and doesn’t encompass the aggregate of the hopes and aspirations of the developing world, India should use the BRICS forum to project its global profile.

• R N Das
• March 22, 2013
• IDSA Comments

If the BRICS Development Bank comes up, it will not only be a big moment for BRICS itself, but also for the global financial structure where the role, stake and space of the developing world will grow massively.

• Jagannath P. Panda
• March 08, 2013
• IDSA Comments

Although Russia plays a weak hand due to structural problems in the economy and several deficiencies in the political and social order, Putin will try and leverage Russia’ substantial advantages—energy being one of them—to Russia’s advantage.

• Arvind Gupta
• May 21, 2012
• IDSA Comments