Russia, Eastern Europe and Eurasia Research Programme (RUS) concentrates primarily on studying the trajectory of the political processes in the region stretching from EU eastern borders to the Far East with a special emphasis on Russia. The programme is led by Programme Director Arkady Moshes.
Focal research themes of the research programme include
- Russia’s domestic developments
- Russian foreign and security policy
- The political transformations of the countries of the former post-Soviet space
“Putin’s Russia” is entering a crucial and, possibly, a turbulent period. The status quo is likely to become unsustainable already in the medium run, and this will have major repercussions for Finland and Europe as a whole.
The programme examines Russia’s domestic developments, further evolution of the Vladimir Putin’s regime in the direction of totalitarianism, and societal responses to this process. Russian foreign and security policy is also studied, including the role it will play in terms of generating wider international (in)security. The war against Ukraine, even if it comes to a halt, will continue setting a broad context for Russia’s both domestic and international behavior.
Another focal point of the Russia, Eastern Europe and Eurasia Research Programme is political transformations of the countries of the former post-Soviet space. These transformations are increasingly divergent and as such are a challenge for Moscow’s plans to keep the status of a dominant player in region. Besides the situation in Ukraine, the on-going political crisis in Belarus and dynamics in Central Asian states are one of the primary research areas.
The role of the enablers of Russia’s policy is also studied. This mostly concerns key countries of the Global South, starting with China. However, the work will be limited to studying those policies of theirs that directly affect Russia and the region.