Russian & Iranian Influences

After our Central Asia publication “Can Russia find more Friends and supports in War against Ukraine?
Position and reactions of Central Asian Countries” we provide the interested audience with the compilation of tactical and strategic narratives coming from Beijing over the Russia-Ukraine war.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine found Central Asian states in surprise. Undoubtedly their attention was occupied by events in Kazakhstan beginning of 2022 and developments following widespread unrest when Russian military aggression against Ukraine shook the world.

As for the facts, all Central Asian states and their economies are intertwined with Russia. Some are members of the Eurasian Economic Union as well. The cooperation and interdependency are so high that the threat of Western sanctions over the Kremlin having an effect on them is very tangible and high.

Moreover, three countries of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, along with Armenia and Belarus, are members of the Russian-led security/military alliance – the CSTO. Therefore, Moscow’s expectation of demonstrated support, including military, was rather realistic and projected.

Despite relatively clear links and bondages to Moscow, the reactions and political statements of national governments from Central Asia differed from complete silence to support or concerns over the developments in Ukraine. President Putin’s recognition of breakaway regions and dismissal of Ukrainian statehood should’ve rung a bell in some Central Asian states, particularly those with significant Russian minorities.

With the support of the European Values Center for Security Policy, USAID and MFA of the Czech Republic, Civic IDEA, with the local partners (GRASS, DFR Lab, MDF), contributed to the second volume of the joint research “Russian and Chinese Influences in Georgia”.

This Report is the second edition of the study launched in 2020 – Mapping Research: Comparing foreign influence in Georgia. This year’s issue – Russian and Chinese influences in Georgia – 2021 update monitors the development of foreign country influences in Georgia in 2021, especially in state institutions, NGOs, media, political parties, or the Church. This paper aims to further analyze a broad spectrum of problems already introduced in the previous report, such as campaigns and activities implemented and sponsored by third countries, ranging from political infiltration to corrosive capital flows with political goals.

Report ?