Articles

Second Russia-Africa Summit: A Mixed Bag for Africa

Samir Bhattacharya, Senior Research Associate, VIF Article

Background

In recent years, Russia may have increased its influence in Africa more than any other external power. However, Russia has a long history of interaction with Africa. These two continents were extremely close during the Cold War....

September 10, 2023 International Relations and Diplomacy , Africa , Article , Russia , modi , UNSC , Africa , Putin , Ukraine , G20 , Russia Africa Summit , Neo-colonialism

Risks of Exaggeration: What to Make of Russia’s Relations with China after the Xi Visit

Amb D.B. Venkatesh Varma, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Article

Xi Jinping’s three-day visit to Moscow, 20-23March, his first abroad in his third term as China’s President, evoked considerable interest. Two joint statements and a dozen bilateral cooperation documents were signed. Xi’s personal equation wit....

April 06, 2023 International Relations and Diplomacy , China , Russia , Article , India , US , China , Russia , Putin , Ukraine , Xi visit

Gorbachev’s Legacy: A Reformer Who Lost the Game

Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF Article

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and the last president of the Soviet Union, passed away in Moscow on 30 August 2022 at the age of 91. He was no ordinary leader. He was the principal architect of the end of ....

September 05, 2022 International Relations and Diplomacy , Russia , Article , Russia , Putin , Ukraine , glasnost , Gorbachev , Marxist-Leninist , perestroika , USSR

Belarusian Dynamics in the Context of Russia-Ukraine Crisis

Varuna Shankar Article

Introduction

Belarus is a European nation with a population of 10million and runs a 1000km long southern border with Ukraine. The political character of the government is a unitary presidential constitutional republic with capital at Mins....

September 02, 2022 International Relations and Diplomacy , Russia , Article , Putin , Belarus , Lukashenka , Elections Economic relations , Protest

Troubled Times Ahead for China and Xi Jinping

Jayadeva Ranade Article

China is headed for a difficult period. A variety of factors have converged to make this a potentially volatile period. With barely six months to go for the crucial 20th Party Congress, it will be a period of particularly heightened concern for Chine....

May 27, 2022 International Relations and Diplomacy , China , Article , China , economy , Xi Jinping , Putin , CCP , Beijing , NDRC , Shanghai , zero-Covid

Russia-China: The Unequal Relationship and its Implications

Jayadeva Ranade Article

A brief background of world events will help set the context for assessing this relationship. Without delving into why Russia did what it did in Ukraine, over the past few years we have witnessed major powers attempting to consolidate or expand their....

May 19, 2022 International Relations and Diplomacy , China , Article , China , Russia , Putin , CCP , Ukraine , Tsinghua University , CPSU

Chinese Criticism of China’s Support to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Jayadeva Ranade Article

After the February 4 Summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing and 18 days after Russia invaded Ukraine, China has not wavered in its support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine despite urgings by the U....

March 24, 2022 International Relations and Diplomacy , China , Article , Russia , Putin , CCP , Ukraine , 20th Party Congress

Report of VIF Strategic Discussions on the Ukraine Conflict

Avantika Menon Article

At the crack of dawn on 24 February 2022, President Putin announced a special ‘military operation’ in the Donbas region of Ukraine. A large number of tanks and troops rolled into several parts of Ukraine from Russia, Crimea and Belarus while w....

March 10, 2022 International Relations and Diplomacy , Russia , Article , India , US , China , Putin , NATO , Ukraine , Information war , Air Power , Biden , Minsk Agreement