Russia And The Collective West: The Global Politics Of The Cold War 1.0/2.0 – Analysis

 September 22, 2025

By Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic

Russia as the phoenix in global politics

After the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia became a less popular area of study and dealing with in comparison to before the end of the Cold War (1949‒1991). In the West, it was believed that after 1991, Russia was simply “finished” as Moscow was no longer the capital of a great power state (of the USSR) which had an important influence in global politics and international relations after WWII.

In other words, the Western policymakers thought that after 1991, Russia would remain irrelevant as both economic and political power in global politics, and, therefore, for instance, many universities’ studies programs on Russia in the USA and Western Europe were either canceled or downsized under the explanation that studying Russia was no longer important for international relations (IR) and global security.   

However, all of those who shared an opinion that Russia was “irrelevant” in global politics and international relations since the end of the Cold War realized at least from the 2008 Russo-Georgian War (1) onward their fatal mistake of judgment. Russia is “back,” and subsequently, Washington and Brussels declared a new Cold War (2.0) on Russia in 2008 (2) as they clearly understood that Russia is back as a military, economic, and political great power. In other words, the Collective West, especially (and led by) the USA, made a critical experiment of provoking Russia on the international stage, and they received a very clear answer. The second fatal experiment of challenging Russia was on the soil of the (Soviet) Ukraine from 2014 to 2022, when reborn post-Cold War 1.0 Russia accepted the thrown “white glove” in February 2022 by launching a Special Military Operation (SMO) against the Russofrenic neo-Nazi political regime in Kiev, directly politically, logistically, financially, and militarily supported by the Collective West since the 2014 EuroMaidan’s cup.   

Russia, as a country with tremendous energy resources, nuclear power, educated and talented people, simply cannot be ignored in global politics by the Collective West, as was the practice in the years from 1991 to 2008. It became true especially from the very point of fact that Russia has been actively since 2008 pursuing its own national interests and security policy near its borders (within the space of the ex-USSR). Nevertheless, it became totally wrong to believe that the post-Cold War Russia was going to be an adversary to the American “New World Order”, as reborn Russia after 2000 clearly shows to be a respectful Eurasian global power with national interests and aspirations of her own to be both acknowledged and respected. It was finally proven by the start of the Russian Special Military Operation on the territory of Eastern (Soviet) Ukraine populated by the Russian speakers in February 2022. This operation, at the same time, clearly showed the Global West that Russia once again (after the dissolution of the Soviet Union) became a member of the top global powers in global politics and, therefore, its influence in IR cannot be ignored anymore.      

Transformation of post-Soviet Russia into a Great Power

It is a historical law that each state changes with time. However, only a few states experience such dramatic change during the short period of time as Russia has over the last 30+ years. In other words, Russia has changed as a state, nation, and military power, followed by its fluctuating position in global politics and international relations. From 1991 to today, Russia has transformed peacefully and rapidly its entire political and economic system, which is a relatively rare example in history. When the USSR dissolved in 1991, Russia was left to be one of its 15 constituent republics, which proclaimed independence forced to substantially redefine its role in global politics. The 1990s were very painful for Russia’s position in international relations as the country’s foreign policy was, in fact, supervised and directed by Washington and Brussels as the case of NATO aggression on Serbia and Montenegro in 1999, for instance, clearly showed but since 2008 Russia’s foreign policy once again became an independent and gradually returning the country to the club of the Great Powers.  

The importance of Russia´s influence in the world in the arena of global politics is based on the fundamental fact that Russia is one of the strongest international actors that is determining the global political agenda. It means that Russia is once again a member of the Great Power club as „a great power state is a state deemed to rank amongst the most powerful in a hierarchical state-system“. (3) Russia, in this respect, surely fits the conventionally accepted academic criteria that define a Great Power:

1. A Great Power state is in the first rank of military capacity.
2. A Great Power state has the capacity to maintain its own security and to influence other states on how to behave.
3. A Great Power state is economically powerful, although this is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for membership in the Great Power club (the cases of Japan or Germany are the best illustrations of this claim).
4. A Great Power state has global but not only regional spheres of national interest and action.
5. A Great Power state is running a “forward“ foreign policy and, therefore, it has a real but not only potential influence on international relations and global (world) politics. (4)
6. A Great Power is a state (at least according to the 18th-century concept) that could not be conquered even by the combined might of other Great Powers. (5)

Russia surely belongs today to the club of key global powers having powerful nuclear weapons, a growing economy, and prospective economic capacities, being one of the leading BRICS members. However, what is most important and different to others, Russia possesses almost endless natural resources (many of them are probably still even not discovered). For instance, in September 2025, the Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia has reserves of coal for the next one thousand years. From a geopolitical viewpoint, Russia is occupying the crucial segment of the Heartland – the focal geopolitical part of the world. (6) Russia, with its rich history and national traditions, is today in the process of defining its new political role in the current century. Behind Russia’s policies, there is a comprehensible strategy based on a firm vision of the contemporary world and the protection of the Russian national interests.   

The six factors of Russian power in IR

A contemporary history of Russia starts after the dissolution of the USSR by Mikhail Gorbachev (according to the agreement with Ronald Reagan in Reykjavík in October 1986), (7) which marked at the same time the beginning of the political and economic turmoil in the 1990s, when Russia under Boris Yeltsin and his pro-Western liberals was a puppet state of the Collective West. However, the country gradually emerged from the period of instability since 2000 mainly due to the well-combined six factors, which a new administration of President Vladimir Putin skilfully exploited to the full extent: 

1. Substantial mineral resources, particularly of oil, gas, and coal.
2. Significant military power, based on the second greatest nuclear potential in the world. 
3. Relatively well-educated, productive segment of the population.
4. A high-quality scientific and technological base that survived in several industries.
5. Permanent membership in the UNSC, the G8, and the G20.

It is predicted that Russia will remain in the future as one of the focal and strongest international actors on the same or above level of influence, together with the US, EU, China, and rising Islamic cultures, especially Iran and Turkey. Russia’s natural resources and capabilities may allow it to follow an independent line in foreign policy and security national interests, both in the post-Soviet regions and in some key areas of the world: Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Predictably, however, Moscow’s interests will inevitably clash with those of other major actors – especially the US and its European clients. That is for sure that world order in international relations is going to continue to function according to World Systems Theory: a variant of structuralism that conceptualizes world order as being structured into 1) A rich and developed core, 2) Poor and underdeveloped periphery, and 3) A number of intermediary or semi-peripheral states. Russia is going to improve its own position within the first (leading) group, which includes all Great Powers who are hopefully (after the 2025 meeting of the Shangai Cooperation Organization-SCO) going to govern international relations and global politics according to the principle of Balance of Power which refers to a mechanism whereby Great Power’s states collaborate with each other in order to maintain their interests against threats from those who would seek systemic dominance. 

Why study and respect Russia?

There are at least four focal and most important reasons for both studying and respecting Russia’s importance in global politics and international relations today:

1. Geopolitical position and the size of the country: Russia is the largest country in the world, stretching over 17 million sq. km and covering 11 time zones. Russia borders the Baltic Sea in the west, the Black Sea and Caspian Sea (in fact, the lake) in the south, the Arctic Ocean in the north, and the Pacific Ocean in the east. Russia is both a European and Asian country, which, in fact, occupies the crucial geopolitical position in the world – the core of the Heartland. Russia shares borders with six NATO member states (Poland, Norway, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, and Latvia), faces a seventh one across the Black Sea (Turkey), and is geographically separated by only 85,30 km wide Bering Strait from the USA (also a member of NATO). Russia borders 16 internationally recognized states, which is the largest number of neighbors that one country has in the world. A geopolitical factor of Russia can be shortly understood if we know that anything that is happening on the territory of Eurasia from Central Europe to Japan is affecting to a certain extent Russia and, therefore, Moscow has to react by some means to that. (8)
2. Regional power: Russia is surely a regional power within the perimeter of Heartland, which is striving to realize its own political, economic, national, and security interests. Russia, after 2000, succeeded in developing its own independent policies toward other states, including NATO and the EU’s members. The “problems” with Russia in global politics and international relations started when, since 2008, Russia’s foreign policy did not in many segments correspond with the strategic interests of the USA and its European and other clients of NATO and the EU. To the full level of dissatisfaction by Washington and Brussels, Russia maintains friendly relations with the three main American enemies and competitors – North Korea, China, and Iran. The most “problematic” issue of Russian foreign policy in the region for Washington is the fact that Moscow is continuing its efforts to build multi-state economic and political coalitions with neighboring countries, including super-powerful China, followed by rising powers of Iran and India. Russia, China, and India are already members of the international bloc, the BRICS, together with Brazil and South Africa as founders, followed by newly accepted member states. (9) The Collective West finally 2008 recognized Russia’s claim to have “privileged interests” within the post-Soviet territories, except in those countries that joined the EU and NATO before (the Baltic States).  (10)
3. Military power: With the total dissatisfaction by the Pentagon and Brussels, Russia still even during overwhelming economic, financial, and other sanctions by the Collective West introduced since 2022, remains a very strong military state with stable economic growth, respectful military and nuclear capacity, and developing potentials which are keeping it as one of the Great Powers (even a Super Power) in global politics. It is quite understandable that even after Cold War 1.0, when bare American imperialism received its full expression at least till 2008, Moscow continues with its security policy based on the priority of having strong military capacities. Historically, for the Russian authorities is quite clear that after NATO’s establishment in 1949, Russia’s survival, independence, and sovereignty depended only on its military power, especially the nuclear one. (11) Russia (at that time the USSR) started to produce nuclear weapons in 1949 when the US created its imperialistic military bloc of Western puppet states and reached nuclear parity with the US at the beginning of the 1970s. Russia is today maintaining a nuclear arsenal and delivery systems that are comparable to the arsenal of the US. (12) Unfortunately, due to the US’ policy of open gangsterism in international relations after the end of the Cold War 1.0, the so-called Western liberal democracies (the EU and NATO) are still an enemy to both Russia’s and global security and, therefore, one of the most important tasks for the near future in global politics has to be the creation of new reliable policies of common security based on justice, democracy, and friendship – a kind of multilateral global politics or at least the international relations founded on the form of the balancing power among the Great Powers.  
4. Economic power: Russia remains a global economic power with a growing economy index higher than many Western countries, having a population of some 142 million, which makes it one of the ten most populous states in the world. Her GDP per annum is selecting Russia among the world’s top 10 economies. In 2007, the private sector, with 5 million private enterprises, contributed 65% of Russia’s GDP. Although an economic slowdown is possible, Russia is most likely to continue with its economic growth in the near future, regardless of the harsh economic and other sanctions imposed by the Collective West since 2022 onward. The main source of revenue (80%) is the exploitation of natural resources (and selling them to the world market), followed by a wide range of different industries. The most important Russian export of natural resources is oil, gas, coal, timber, and metals. We have to keep in mind that, for instance, Russia has 23% of the total world’s forested land (13) and is in the 8th place in the world according to the oil reserves (the first is Venezuela). After 2000, Russia became as well as one of the biggest world’s energy suppliers and the exporter of weapons (among the top 3). The potential economic power of Russia comes from the fact that this country possesses vast reserves of natural resources on its territory, for example, 30% of global gas reserves. The country is quite near to the Arctic’s gas and oil reserves, a large but still unexplored source of energy, which is probably going to be mainly under Russian exploitation in the future. It is not so difficult to claim that energy resources are going to be the focal reason for the conflicts in international relations.        

Current reality of Russo-Western relations in IR

Questions about the nature of Russia’s political and economic systems and Russia’s policy after 2000 are of crucial importance in understanding its place in both Eurasia and the world (BRICS+), and assessing the prospects for dealing with some of the focal challenges to regional and global security. The policymakers of the Collective West understood this truth only after Russia’s military intervention in the Caucasus in August 2008, which was intended to clearly demonstrate that further incorporation of areas of special interest to Moscow into the Western client zone was totally unacceptable. What the same Western policymakers also understood was that this intervention was a clear counterpunch to Western-sponsored Kosovo’s proclamation of “independence” in February of the same year.  

Russia is a leading political subject, a strong economic and military power, a rich energy producer and supplier, an extremely important player in global politics, which is still building its position in the post-Cold War 1.0 era (that, in fact, is already the era of the Cold War 2.0). Russia is and is going to be for a long period of time in the future both one of the crucial players in international relations and one of the most important decision-makers in global politics. However, up to 2022, Russia’s post-Cold War 1.0 geopolitics was forced to be accommodated to the behavior of NATO. (14) Nevertheless, since February 2022, when the SMO of Russia started, in fact, against the Collective Western Russofrenic imperialism, on the territory of the Soviet (Greater) Ukraine, NATO and the rest of the Collective West are forced to accommodate their politics on the global arena to the Russian behaviour. 

• Personal disclaimer: The author writes for this publication in a private capacity, which is unrepresentative of anyone or any organization except for his own personal views. Nothing written by the author should ever be conflated with the editorial views or official positions of any other media outlet or institution. 

Endnotes:

1.  On this war, at least from the Western perspective, see in [Roger E. Kanet (ed.), Russian Foreign Policy in the 21st Century, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, 101−178].
2.  Edward Lucas, The New Cold War: Putin’s Russia and the Threat to the West, London‒New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
3.  Andrew Heywood, Global Politics, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, 7.
4.  About world politics, see in [Jeffrey Haynes et al, World Politics, New York: Routledge, 2013].
5.  Richard W. Mansbach, Karsten L. Taylor, Introduction to Global Politics, Second Edition, London−New York: Routledge, 2012, 578.
6.  About geography and history, see in [Halford John Mackinder, “The Geographical Pivot of History”, The Geographical Journal, 23, 1904, 421−437; Pascal Venier, „The Geographical Pivot of History and Early 20th Century Geopolitical Culture“, Geographical Journal, 170 (4), 2004, 330−336].
7.  About R. Reagan and M. Gorbachev’s relations, see in [Jack F. Matlock Jr., Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended, New York, Random House, 2005]. 
8.  On Eurasia and Great Powers, see in [Roger E. Kanet, Maria Raquel Freire (eds.), Key Players and Regional Dynamics in Eurasia: The Return of the Great Game, Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010].
9.  The BRICS is an acronym first used by the investment firm Goldman Sachs in 2003 (as the BRIC). Taking their rapid economic development, Goldman Sachs predicted that these economies are going to be wealthier by 2050 than the world’s current economic powers. 
10.  About the foreign policy of Russia in the 21st century from the Western perspective, see in [Robert Legvold (ed.), Russian Foreign Policy in the 21st Century and the Shadow of the Past, New York: Columbia University Press, 2007; Roger E. Kanet (ed.), Russian Foreign Policy in the 21st Century, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011]. 
11.  About this issue, see in [Richard Pipes, Survival is not Enough: Soviet Realities and America’s Future, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984].
12.  Robert Legvold, “The Russian File: How to Move Toward a Strategic Partnership”, Foreign Affairs, July/August 2009, 78−93.
13.  World Resource Institute: www.globalforestwatch.org/english/russia (2009).
14.  About the post-Cold War 1.0 geopolitics of Russia, see in [Срђан Перишић, Нова геополитика Русије, Београд: Медија центар „Одбрана“, 2015]. About the new Cold War 2.0, see in [Robert Legvold, Return to Cold War, Cambridge, UK−Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2016].

Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic

Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic is an ex-university professor and a Research Fellow at the Center for Geostrategic Studies in Belgrade, Serbia.

Africa’s hunger offers Russia chance to fight isolation by West


SATURDAY JULY 29 2023

Russia President Vladimir Putin speaks at a plenary meeting at the second Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg, Russia on July 28, 2023. PHOTO | AFP

Summary

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa was given a “free” helicopter to help him travel around the country.

A deeper look at Russia’s involvement in Africa shows that the summit is mainly a symbolic event to signal the strengthening of ties, and to acknowledge Russia’s presence in the continent.

US Permanent Representative to Nato, labelled Russia among the “two main threats facing the Nato Alliance”.

Putin has not fulfilled the promises he made during the earlier Russia-Africa summit in 2019, where Moscow promised $40 billion worth of investments to the continent.

By AGGREY MUTAMBO

Russian President Vladimir Putin was this week shaking hands with and hugging African leaders, labelling them friends, a partial show of the continent’s ties with Moscow in the wake of Western isolation after invading Ukraine last year.

And the gathering, the second Russia-Africa Summit in four years, came with significant imagery: The ongoing food crisis in Africa, and Russia’s war in Ukraine, seemed like a perfect combination for influence peddling.

On Thursday, Moscow offered free grain to six poor African countries and promised to stabilise supplies to other needy states.

Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Eritrea will receive “free” food from Russia, shipped directly to their borders.

Somalia had their decades-old $684 million debt owed to Moscow forgiven in a deal penned on Wednesday. The money was owed before Somalia collapsed more than three decades ago.

Read: Somalia gets debt relief from Russia-Africa Summit

African leaders press Putin on grain deal, Ukraine War

US urges African leaders to confront Putin on grain disruptions

But the gesture could reflect Russia’s use of every opportunity to cement ties with a restless Africa.

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who faces a general election in three weeks, was given a “free” helicopter to help him travel around the country.

Back in St Petersburg, President Putin spoke to his guests as “friends” and told them of his intent to improve grain supplies to the continent.

“Russia will always be a responsible international supplier of agricultural products. We will continue to support the countries and regions most in need.

“We will supply them with our grain and other food products, including free of charge and within the framework of the UN World Food Programme,” Mr Putin argued.

Read: Russia to seek deeper alliance with Africa

Mutual ties

At the gala reception hosted in honour of the participants of the second Russia–Africa Summit, President Putin told the leaders that their coming illustrates the mutual desire of Russia and African countries to expand and deepen mutually “beneficial ties and contacts.”

“This is also a real confirmation of our common intentions to take Russia-Africa relations to a new, more advanced level in politics, security, in the economic and social spheres.”

In the past, he argued, the Soviet Union rendered African nations “tangible support in the struggle against colonialism, racism and apartheid…”

Today, he said, Russia and the African countries stand together for the formation of “a just, multipolar world order based on the principles of sovereign equality of states, non-interference in their internal affairs, and respect for peoples’ right to determine their own destiny.”

Putin spoke to the leaders – among them Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Comoros President and African Union chair Azali Assoumani, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, the current chair of the East African Community, among others.

Read:  Putin hosts African leaders in Russia after grain deal exit

Symbolic event

A deeper look at Russia’s involvement in Africa shows that the summit is mainly a symbolic event to signal the strengthening of ties, and to acknowledge Russia’s presence in the continent.

Dr Angela Muvumba Sellström, senior researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI), says Russia advocates a multipolar world in which Western democratic ideals are not imposed and the ideological sovereignty of non-Western nations is respected.

The narrative appeals to Africans who have often protested an unjust international order and suits Moscow’s campaign against Western hegemony.

But it is not unique: China, the European Union, the US, and France have held similar meetings.

“Russia has seized on Africa’s genuine feelings of disenfranchisement in the global economy and global governance, leveraging its own sense of marginalisation from the global stage to exaggerate the tangible benefits it can offer to the continent,” Dr Sellström told The EastAfrican.

In the short-term, against the background of the Russian war in Ukraine, Moscow is using the grain as a tool, especially after it refused to continue with the Black Sea Grain Initiative, she said, but noted that Russia’s strongest partners on the African continent – Mali, Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, and even Uganda – would have to pursue bilateral arrangements to access grain purchases.

“I do not believe there are any viable long-term economic benefits on offer to Africa from Russia. Less than one percent of foreign direct investment in Africa comes from Russia.

That is a lot less than Europe, the US and China. South Africa and Mauritius have more direct investment in the rest of Africa than does Russia. Moscow focuses mostly on getting natural resources and energy out of Africa, and gives very little direct aid,” she said.

Read: Russia's presence in Africa: Weapons, Wagner and energy

Terror accusations

This week, however, Russia came under criticism from Ukraine and the West for pulling out of the Grain Initiative and attacking a Ukrainian port in Odessa, which had been exporting grain.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said everyone will be impacted by the Russian invasion.

“Everyone is affected by this Russian terror. Everyone in the world should be interested in bringing Russia to justice for its terror,” he said in a Telegram video message on Thursday, after Russian missiles destroyed nearly 60,000 tonnes of grain in a yard in Odessa.

And Julianne Smith, US Permanent Representative to Nato, labelled Russia among the “two main threats facing the Nato Alliance”, the other being terrorism.

“I think those are topics of interest to our partners across Africa as it relates both to Russia’s activities on the African continent and what Africa – what Russia is doing in Ukraine as it relates to this grain deal,” Smith told a group of African journalists in a virtual meeting on Wednesday.

“Russia has violated the foundational principles of the UN Charter itself. The Wagner Group behind the recent coup attempt against Putin’s regime remains a destabilising presence and a threat to the African continent more specifically.

Read:  Inside the Russian mercenary machine in Africa

“And, of course, Russia’s refusal just recently to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its threat to attack commercial vessels carrying grain have led to increased food insecurity across the globe,” she said, adding that the US has established a roadmap on global food security, alongside 100 other countries, worth $4.5 billion for both acute and medium- to long-term food security assistance.

On July 17, Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was scheduled for its fourth renewal, accusing Ukraine of diverting grain from poor recipients. The initiative has been instrumental in facilitating the export of Ukraine’s grain and agricultural products to global markets.

Shortly after the termination of the deal, the Russian Ministry of Defense asserted that it would view any ship heading for Ukraine as a potential carrier of military cargo.

A bulletin by the EUvsDisinfo, a European Union project on Russia’s disinformation, argued Moscow had twisted facts,including a denial of how Ukraine had been the biggest supplier of grain to the World Food Programme.

Yet experts think the West was reactionary.

“The West is already reacting as guessed: Focus on Russia; like the focus on China, which makes other players like African countries appear as voiceless subjects lacking agency,” said Dr Hawa Noor, associate fellow at the Institute for Intercultural and International Studies (InIIS), University of Bremen.

Read: The new scramble for Africa

“Much as Russia is re-positioning itself following the war by courting Southern countries, it should be remembered that these countries have their own agendas too. It’s not all about Russia doing something to African countries.

“There are a lot of bilateral deals as ever despite that tug-of-war between major powers. These countries have their own agendas to push. And, of course for the West, the less support for Russia in Africa, the better,” she told The EastAfrican.

Dr Nasong’o Muliro, a foreign policy and security specialist at the Global Centre for Policy and Strategy in Nairobi, said the St Petersburg Summit may just reflect pragmatism and independence of African countries in their foreign policy in their relations with Russia.

“Every country has an aspect of their interest that they individually wish to fulfil through their relations with Russia. Indeed, Africa has not developed a common position towards Russia, as in holding an extraordinary meeting at the African Union to discuss matters surrounding Russia-Ukraine. So, it is not easy to generalise the strategic interest of African states toward Russia,” Dr Muliro told The EastAfrican.
Moscow strategy

Russia conducts its foreign policy with African states at an elite level, an opaque or unconventional statecraft, which may explain why its close allies in Africa strongmen or leaders of countries are mainly undergoing complex political transitions such as Libya, Mali, Sudan and Guinea. As a result, Dr Muliro argues, Russia has failed to be in touch with the masses or build people-to-people relations on the continent.

Putin has also not fulfilled the promises he made during the earlier Russia-Africa summit in 2019, where Moscow promised $40 billion worth of investments to the continent.

Read: Russia-Africa summit: What Vladmir Putin stands to gain

The politics of food, however, is appealing.

“Russia has done its homework well and found that beyond the supply of arms, the new gateway to Africa is through the supply of grains and fertiliser to mitigate the food crisis occasioned by adverse climate change. Literally get to the head and heart through the stomach. This food insecurity is likely to continue because it is projected that most states especially in East Africa are most likely going to have a poor harvest,” Dr Muliro said.

GOING BACK TO ITS ROOTS

Russia proposes nationalising 

foreign-owned factories that shut 

operations

Tue, March 8, 2022,

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -A senior member of Russia's ruling party has proposed nationalising foreign-owned factories that shut down operations in the country over what the Kremlin calls a special military operation in Ukraine.

Several foreign companies including Ford and Nike have announced temporary shutdowns of stores and factories in Russia in order to put pressure on the Kremlin to stop its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine and as their supply chains are disrupted.

In a statement published on Monday evening on the United Russia website, the secretary of the ruling party's general council Andrei Turchak said shutting operations was a "war" against the citizens of Russia.

The statement mentioned Finnish privately owned food companies Fazer, Valio and Paulig as the latest to announce closures in Russia.

"United Russia proposes nationalising production plants of the companies that announce their exit and the closure of production in Russia during the special operation in Ukraine," Turchak said.

"This is an extreme measure, but we will not tolerate being stabbed in the back, and we will protect our people. This is a real war, not against Russia as a whole, but against our citizens," he said.

"We will take tough retaliatory measures, acting in accordance with the laws of war," Turchak said.

Paulig Chief Executive told Reuters in an email this would not change its plans to withdraw from Russia. Fazer and Valio did not wish to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Fazer, which makes chocolate, bread and pastries, has three bakeries in St Petersburg and one in Moscow, employing around 2,300 people.

Valio has a cheese factory and employs 400 people in Russia, and Paulig has a coffee roastery and employs 200 people in the country.

Last week, non-NATO member Finland, which shares a border with Russia, agreed to strengthen security ties with the United States as it nervously watches Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; additional reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Ed Osmond, Kirsten Donovan and Lincoln Feast.)

Tobacco group BAT suspends Russia capital investments, scales back marketing

Signage is seen at the London offices of British American Tobacco, in London, Britain

Wed, March 9, 2022
By Richa Naidu

LONDON (Reuters) - Camel and Lucky Strike cigarette maker British American Tobacco Plc said on Wednesday its business in Russia continued to operate, but that it had suspended all planned capital investment in the country following the Ukraine invasion.

BAT, which has 2,500 workers in Russia and major local manufacturing operations, also said it was "scaling our business activities appropriate to the current situation, including rationalising our marketing activities."

The Ukraine crisis has put pressure on multinational companies to take action, with a growing list of consumer products manufacturers distancing themselves from Russia this week.

BAT's announcement comes hours after Philip Morris International Inc suspended its planned investments in Russia and said it would scale down manufacturing in the country. Smaller London-listed rival Imperial Brands also said on Wednesday that it had paused operations in Russia.

Nestle, tobacco groups, gamemaker Sony join move away from Russia

Nestle logo is pictured on the door of the supermarket of Nestle headquarters in Vevey

Wed, March 9, 2022

(Reuters) - Nestle, Philip Morris and video gamemaker Sony joined the list of multinationals stepping back from Russia on Wednesday as pressure mounts from consumers in the West to take a stand against the invasion of Ukraine.

Nestle, the world's biggest packaged foods group, and Mondeleze International, followed actions by rivals Procter & Gamble and Unilever in halting investment in Russia.

But the four companies will continue providing essentials, with Mondelez aiming to help to maintain "continuity" of the Russian food supply.

Similarly, while cigarette maker Imperial Brands suspended operations in Russia, rival Philip Morris only said it would scale down manufacturing, and Camel maker British American Tobacco Plc said its business in Russia continued to operate, even though it had suspended capital investment.

Sony, whose movie studio has already stopped releases in Russia, took additional action on Wednesday, saying its PlayStation gaming unit would stop shipments and operations in Russia. "Sony Interactive Entertainment joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine," it said.

Many businesses face difficulty working in Russia due to sanctions and a lack of shipping, in addition to pressure from consumers and investors, and describe ending work in Russia in more practical terms, without blaming the Russian government for attacking Ukraine.

Heavy equipment maker Deere & Co, saying it was "deeply saddened by the significant escalation of events in Ukraine," announced it had ended shipments to Russia two weeks ago, and subsequently to Belarus, and said it would follow U.S. and international sanctions. Caterpillar Inc said it was suspending business as supply chain disruptions and sanctions made business difficult and 3M followed suit after reassessing its business in Russia.

Still, pressure in the West is building.

A Rio Tinto executive early in the day said the miner was working to maintain supplies of Russian fuel to its Mongolian copper mine, but the company later announced it was terminating all commercial relationships with Russian businesses.

Hotel companies Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Hyatt Hotels Corp said they would suspend development in Russia.

Coca-Cola Co and McDonald's Corp halted sales in Russia on Tuesday in symbolically potent gestures. A senior member of the Russian ruling party has warned that foreign firms that close down could end up having their operations nationalised.

McDonald's said the temporary closure of its 847 stores in the country would cost it $50 million a month.

Sportswear firm Adidas also quantified the cost of scaling back its operations, saying it would take a hit to sales of up to 250 million euros ($277 million).

Yum Brands Inc, parent of fried chicken giant KFC, said it was pausing investments in Russia, a market that helped it achieve record development last year.

Carlsberg said it was suspending Russian brewing of its namesake brand of beer while keeping its Russian Baltika brand operating.

"We feel a moral obligation to our Russian colleagues who are an integral part of Carlsberg, and who are not responsible for the actions of the Government," Carlsberg said, adding it was withdrawing financial guidance for the year.

E-commerce company Shopify Inc joined the crowd, saying it would suspend Russian operations and collect no fees from Ukrainian merchants, citing millions of Ukrainian refugees needing support.

'LAWS OF WAR'

In response to the exodus, Andrei Turchak, secretary of the ruling United Russia party's general council, warned Moscow might nationalise idled foreign assets.

"United Russia proposes nationalising production plants of the companies that announce their exit and the closure of production in Russia during the special operation in Ukraine," Turchak wrote in a statement published on the party's website on Monday.

The statement named Finnish privately owned food companies Fazer, Valio and Paulig as the latest to announce closures.

"We will take tough retaliatory measures, acting in accordance with the laws of war," Turchak said.

SANCTIONS

Moscow, which calls its invasion of Ukraine a "special military operation," has been hit by sweeping Western sanctions that have choked trade, led to the collapse of the rouble and further isolated the country.

Banks and billionaires have also been targeted, with the European Commission preparing new sanctions targeting additional Russian oligarchs and politicians, and three Belarusian banks, Reuters reported.

While the war in Ukraine and the sanctions have bolstered prices for commodities that Russia exports such as oil, natural gas and titanium, those sanctions have largely barred Moscow from taking advantage of the high prices.

On Tuesday the United States banned Russian oil imports.

U.S. oilfield services company Schlumberger, which derives about 5% of its revenue from Russia, said the ongoing conflict would likely hurt results this quarter.

Global commodities trader Trafigura Group raised a $1.2 billion revolving credit facility from banks to help address soaring energy and commodity prices.

Norway's Yara, a top fertiliser maker, said on Wednesday it would curtail ammonia and urea output in Italy and France due to surging gas prices.

($1 = 0.9037 euro)

(Reporting by Reuters bureaux, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Rithika Krishna, Aishwarya Nair and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru, Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles, Bianca Flowers in Chicago, Denny Thomas in Toronto and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Writing by Sayantani Ghosh, Paul Sandle and Peter Henderson; Editing by Jason Neely, Jane Merriman, Matthew Lewis and Lincoln Feast.)

Ukraine crisis: Which major Western fast food chains are still open in Russia?

Andy Wells
·Freelance Writer
Wed, March 9, 2022


The Ukraine crisis has seen many major brands suspend operation in Russia – including several fast food chains.

Following widespread criticism, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and McDonald’s have joined others by halting business in Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

The three major brands all announced the move within hours of each other on Tuesday.

In a statement posted to its website, Starbucks announced it is “suspending all business activity in Russia”.

Dunkin' Donuts have stores still open in Russia. (Getty)

Papa John's stories remain open in Russia. (Getty)

Starbucks chief executive Kevin Johnson said in a statement posted on the website that the company condemns “the horrific attacks on Ukraine by Russia and our hearts go out to all those affected”.

It came just hours after McDonald’s announced the temporary closure of all restaurants in Russia in 850 different communities.

However, some fast food chains with stores in Russia appear to still be operating, with no immediate mention of halting business on company websites.

They are:


Burger King – 550 stores


Domino’s Pizza – 121 stores as of 2017


Papa John’s – 197 stores as of 2019


Subway – Around 600 stores


Dunkin’ Donuts – Around 20 stores

McDonald's has announced the closure of all its restaurants in Russia. (Getty)

KFC and Pizza Hut also have stores open in Russia but parent company Yum Brands Inc said they were finalising an agreement to suspend all Pizza Hut restaurant operations in Russia.

Seventy company-owned KFC stores are also set to close, while investment in Russia is set to be paused.

However, with at least 1,000 KFC stores in Russia, many will remain open but the majority are owned and operated independently through franchise agreements, meaning the company has significantly less control on closing those stores.

Yum Brands said in a statement: "Like so many across the world, we are shocked and saddened by the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine.

"Yum Brands has suspended all investment and restaurant development in Russia while we continue to assess additional options."

A man walks past a Domino's Pizza restaurant in Moscow, Russia. (Reuters)

Many KFC stores in Russia are independently owned and remain open. (Kirill Kukhmar\TASS via Getty)

Burger King stores in Russia remain open due to franchise issues. (Getty)

Similarly, Restaurant Brands International Inc, the parent company of Burger King, said that their more than 800 restaurants remain open in Russia as they are owned and operated by local franchisees.

A spokesperson for the company told Yahoo News UK that Burger King has committed $3m to immediately support Ukrainian refugees.

They added: “We are watching the attack on Ukraine and its people with horror and are focusing our efforts in the region on contributing to the safety of Ukrainians seeking shelter and security for their families.”

An apartment building damaged after shelling the day before in Ukraine's second-biggest city of Kharkiv. (Getty)

Domino’s Pizza, Papa John’s, Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts have all been contacted for comment.

In an article shared to the McDonald’s website on Tuesday – which was originally sent to employees and franchisees by email – CEO Chris Kempczinski said: “The conflict in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Europe has caused unspeakable suffering to innocent people.”

Kempczinski said it would continue to pay the 62,000 employees in Russia although the company “cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine”.

The Growing Russia-India Relationship

by Ted Snider Posted onApril 28, 2023

The US has made much of its success in isolating Russia internationally. But that boast is hard to take too seriously when Russia is growing ever closer to the two largest countries in the world. While the world has been watching the "no limits" partnership between Russia and China grow into “a relationship that probably cannot be compared with anything in the world," Russia has been growing quietly closer to the second largest country in the world.

India has long been a close partner of Russia. In 2009, India and Russia signed the Joint Russian-Indian Declaration of Deepening and Strategic Partnership. In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia where the two sides agreed on a number of steps to enhance that partnership.

That partnership did not come apart under US pressure after Russia invaded Ukraine. Despite intense pressure from the US to "take a clear position" against Russia, India has refused to condemn Russia at the UN and has repeated Russia’s call to take "into account the legitimate security interests of all countries." India has also offered Russia an escape from sanctions by swelling from a country that once imported little Russian oil to a country that now has Russia as its top supplier of oil. India imported $41.56 billion from Russia in the last fiscal year, which is about five times its previous level. Before the war, Russia was India’s eighteenth largest import partner; since the war, Russia has become India’s fourth largest import partner.

And the partnership did not only not come apart, it grew stronger. On September 16, 2022, over half a year after the war in Ukraine began, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that "Relations between Russia and India have significantly improved." He called the friendship "extremely important." Seven months later, on April 16, 2023, Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the relationship with Russia had not changed, calling it "among the steadiest of the major relationships of the world in the contemporary era."

Russia’s March 31 new foreign policy concept states that "Russia will continue to build up a particularly privileged strategic partnership with the Republic of India in order to raise the level and expand cooperation in all areas."

And while the US is pushing a plan to ban all exports to Russia except those that are specifically exempted, India is defiantly following its independent path and continuing to strengthen its economic relationship with Russia. India and Russia have resumed discussions on a free trade agreement between India and the Russian led Eurasian Economic Commission that had been disrupted by COVID. The two countries are now engaged in "advanced negotiations" for a new bilateral investment treaty.

But the advancing relationship is not just based on trade. Beyond economics, Jaishankar said that India and Russia "share a commitment to a multi-polar world." The new Russian foreign policy concept also stressed that transforming "Eurasia into a continental common space of peace, stability, mutual trust, development and prosperity" necessitated the comprehensive strengthening of the SCO."

The SCO, or the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, is a massive international organization that includes Russia, China, India and Pakistan. It is the world’s second largest international organization after the UN, and its primary purpose is to re-balance the US led unipolar world into a multipolar world.

Along with Russia and China, India is also a member of BRICS, another important multipolar organization. Contained within BRICS is the core RIC group that traces its roots all the way back to 1996. In their joint statement of February 4, 2022, Russia and China stressed strengthening, not only the SCO and BRICS, but specifically "develop[ing] cooperation within the ‘Russia-India-China’ format." India has also called, not only for the general "strengthening of the BRICS Identity," but specifically for discussions on "further strengthening of RIC trilateral cooperation."

This year, India will host the SCO summit. In a further show of the growing relationship between Russia and India, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to travel to India twice this year: once to the SCO summit and once to the G20 summit. The two countries expect to take advantage of the visits to make cooperation between them stronger. The visits make an additional statement following the International Criminal Court’s March 17 issuing of a warrant of arrest for Putin as a war criminal.

In a further evolution of the multipolar world, India seems interested in joining Russia and China in escaping from the hegemony of the US dollar. Speaking in India, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov expressed Russia’ interest in using "national currencies and currencies of friendly countries" for trade. Reuters reports that India, too, "has been keen on increasing the use of its rupee currency for trade with Russia." And, recently, India has begun purchasing some Russian oil in Russian rubles.

BRICS represents 40% of the world’s population, the SCO represents 43%, and both are growing. China and India make up more than a third of the population of the world. As Russia’s much discussed relationship with China and, importantly, its much less discussed relationship with India continue to grow, it is hard to take seriously the Western insistence that Russia is isolated and alone.

Ted Snider is a regular columnist on US foreign policy and history at Antiwar.com and The Libertarian Institute. He is also a frequent contributor to Responsible Statecraft and The American Conservative as well as other outlets.