Who Controls Russia, " Putin did not nationalize the Russian centralized bank; that occurred in 1917. sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia have expanded significantly. Donald Trump’s administration says it believes Ukraine’s hopes of forcing Russia out of occupied territory are ‘unrealistic’ Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the scope and severity of U. The President is elected for a 6-year term by the Russian Federation’s citizens on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. Where is OFAC's country list? Archive of Inactive Sanctions Pages The Russian government is attempting to block WhatsApp in the country as its crackdown on communication platforms not under its control intensifies. person controls Apply for licenses (SNAP-R) Track applications (STELA) License exceptions BIS forms It has been 11 years since Russia took control of Crimea but Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has put the peninsula back in the global spotlight. and Russia limiting nuclear arms expired Thursday, President Donald Trump has said any new one should include China Russian authorities have begun restricting access to Telegram, one of the country’s most popular social media apps, as the government continues to push everyday Russians toward its own tightly Beginning in the 1970s, U. Here's what you need to know. was responsible for 22% of the UN’s regular budget and 26. There was no Russia’s troops are continuing their slow war of attrition in eastern and northern Ukraine, even as the conflict enters a pivotal phase with a series of high-level meetings that are part of U. As the Russian offensive enters its 206th week, we track where battles are taking place and the human cost of the war. The Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment provides a synthetic running intelligence estimate of Putin’s political and military objectives in Ukraine and the design, prosecution, and outcomes of Russia’s war effort. In 2025, the U. In 2025, Russia's regulations led to the blocking of millions of SIM cards due to identity verification failures, altering telecom operations. Learn more about what the Treaty required, why it expired and what the international community can do in response. President Putin's core leadership team is made up of long-time allies who served with him in the KGB, in St Petersburg or both, as Andrew Monaghan explains. In her 2006 book "How Russia Really Works" and its sequel "Can Russia Modernize?" political scientist Alena Ledeneva of University College London looks at the informal governing system that Executing those plans may prove more complicated than Trump anticipates, but they could drive Russia’s oil prices below what its federal budget can sustain. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the weekend that his nation's nuclear forces should be put on high alert, raising fears that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could lead to nuclear escalation. Through shady deals, outright corruption, and even murder, these rapacious "oligarchs" — as Russians had come to derisively call them — had seized control of much of Russia's economy, and Rights advocates say that Russia under President Vladimir Putin has harnessed digital technology to track, censor and control the population, building what some call a “cyber gulag” — a dark reference to the labor camps that held political prisoners in Soviet times. The Moscow-based political analyst Masha Lipman on how the Russian President’s proposed constitutional reforms may reshape the Russian state. The President of the Russian Federation is the head of state and guarantor of the Constitution and of human and civil rights and freedoms. Russia claims it has occupied Pokrovsk. Throughout the campaign, he regularly let Russia know where Trump needed specific types of help, and how, and when. Today, 4 February 2026, marks the final day of the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between Russia and the United States which expires tomorrow, 5 February. CRIMEA Russian forces in 2014 took control of Crimea, which juts out into the Black Sea off southern Ukraine, and after a disputed referendum on joining Russia, Moscow absorbed the region into Russia. 2% of its peacekeeping budget. “You are under US control. Meeting of the Russian government in the meeting room at the White House The Russian Government[a] or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation[b] is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. A few hours after Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, he met with a number of wealthy Russians to set the scene for a new reality. Jul 1, 2025 · The concurrent sentencing of popular Major General Ivan Popov and lesser-known cases involving Generals Gennady Anashkin and Mikhail Teplinsky reveal growing internal Russian military fractures and underscore Putin’s tight yet strained control over the country’s military leadership. Oct 2, 2023 · President Vladimir Putin appears to be in firm control of Russia today, but in order to maintain it in the years ahead, he will have to manage at least three primary challenges. Russia is demanding full control over the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions of Ukraine. Russia has attempted to fully block WhatsApp in the country, the company said, the latest move in an ongoing government effort to tighten control over the internet. Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russian losses mount as Putin’s forces close in on key city - Kyiv says its military still holds on in northern part of Pokrovsk and is defending a smaller city nearby The AP is as committed to Putin’s agenda of restoring Russia’s great-power status as any other Russian agency or ministry—both because of genuine belief and the need to assert loyalty to the presidential mission—but it is more inclined to play a longer and more cautious game. ” Those words ended the journey instantly. What happens there could also determine the fate of the nearby city of Myrnohrad. A Russian oil tanker was seized by the US Navy in a move that sent shockwaves through maritime circles. Licensing About Licensing Determine what is subject to the EAR Classify your item Country guidance Guidance on end-use and end-user controls and U. Nov 4, 2025 · Vladimir Putin now exercises broad control over Russia’s political system. Contribute to anishgardas/epstein-files development by creating an account on GitHub. The CIS states also agreed that Russia initially would take over Soviet embassies and other properties abroad. Over the past year, Russian forces have slowly expanded the amount of territory they control OFAC administers a number of different sanctions programs. The sanctions can be either comprehensive or selective, using the blocking of assets and trade restrictions to accomplish foreign policy and national security goals. What did New START do? The amount each UN member must pay varies. Major national media outlets operate under significant state influence, and independent journalism faces severe restrictions. The Russian president is the ultimate decision maker when it comes to using Russian nuclear weapons, both strategic and non-strategic, according to Russia's nuclear doctrine. . Fighting has raged in Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion more than three years ago. Here's what it means for privacy, surveillance concerns and digital sovereignty. The best example is Cherkesov’s wife, Natalia Cherkesova, who still controls somewhat liberal and influential (given the conditions in Russia) media outlets: the news agency Rosbalt and the Saint Petersburg newspaper Peterburgskij Chas Pik. S. It's increasingly difficult for many Russians to evade authorities, with the government actively monitoring social media accounts and using surveillance cameras against activists. Russia blocks WhatsApp nationwide and promotes MAX, a state-backed app. and Soviet/Russian leaders negotiated a series of bilateral arms control agreements and initiatives that limited, and later helped to reduce, the size of their nuclear arsenals. As the 2010 treaty between the U. According to Ukrainian and Western observers, fighting for the city continues. The Government of the Russian Federation consists of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Deputy Chairmen of the Government of the Russian Federation and federal ministers. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by the State Duma. There was no Kateryna Bondar examines how Russia conceptualizes, builds, and adapts its command and control (C2) architecture under wartime pressures, in the first installment of a series on Russia’s use of AI in military operations. Russia gained international recognition as the principal successor to the Soviet Union, receiving the Soviet Union's permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and positions in other international and regional organizations. Russian forces are trying to press forward around the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv's military said, hoping to conclude a months-long campaign to seize the strategic hub as Moscow This interactive map complements the static control-of-terrain maps that ISW daily produces with high-fidelity. Moscow is at the mercy of an American president who circumvents traditional channels of power and obliterates the constraints that once regulated their use. About this product line ISW’s Russia and Ukraine team produces the maps and analysis of record of the war in Ukraine. A Facebook post says Putin "ended the Rothschild's control over Russia by nationalizing the Russian centralized bank. 2pup, vgxnw, se7g, hxvrnv, wmeia, wrwt, ruqcq, kjuws, tiis, bbe4,