<p>Eurasia is the world&rsquo;s most expansive region. It connects the East to the West, forming a land bridge that borders Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and South Asia. Forming the borders of this massive tract of land are the Northern European Plain, the Carpathian Mountains, the Southern Caucasus Mountains, the Tien Shan Mountains and Siberia. At the heart of Eurasia is Russia, a country that throughout history has tried, to varying degrees of success, to extend its influence to Eurasia&rsquo;s farthest reaches &mdash; a strategy meant to insulate it from outside powers. But this strategy necessarily creates conflict throughout Russia&rsquo;s borderlands, putting Eurasia a near constant state of instability.</p>

Eurasia connects the East to the West, forming a land bridge that borders Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and South Asia. 

Eurasia

Armenia

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Ukraine

Uzbekistan

Azerbaijan

Georgia

Belarus

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Russia

Moldova

The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Cyber

The Ukraine Conflict

The Politics of Pipelines

The New Silk Road

Commodities: A Cautionary Tale

A Crude Recovery

The Second Space Race

Echoes of the Cold War

Russia's Internal Struggle

The Fight for Russia’s Borderlands

Moscow Looks to the East

Instability in Central Asia

Assessments

Europe

A screen is seen during the International military anti drone exercise Baltic Trust 25 (BATT25) at the Selonia (Selija) military training ground near Viesite on Aug. 27, 2025.

Military & Security

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The European Union is pushing to develop continent-wide anti-drone capabilities, but financial, political and legal fragmentation will significantly slow progress and leave the bloc's defense vulnerable.

Despite Political Enthusiasm, EU Drone Defenses Face Obstacles to Implementation

United States

China

U.S. President Donald Trump (C), joined by lawmakers and members of his administration, delivers remarks during a dinner with leaders of Central Asian countries in the East Room of the White House on Nov. 6, 2025.

Economics

Energy

Politics

The recent C5+1 summit highlighted the U.S.'s desire to boost cooperation with Central Asian countries on trade and critical minerals, but the region's geography, governance and reliance on China and Russia will ultimately limit the impact of such efforts. 

The Promise and Limits of Increased U.S. Engagement in Central Asia

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Entrance signage is seen at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on July 23, 2024.

Riyadh and its Gulf partners will likely prioritize OPEC+ unity and cooperation with Moscow on oil policy over boosting production to offset Russian supply losses from U.S. sanctions, even if it risks irking Washington.

Why Saudi Arabia Won't Backfill Russia's Sanctioned Oil Exports

Venezuela

Spain

Tanks on Sept. 23 in Caracas, Venezuela. The Trump administration has reportedly decided to attack military sites in Venezuela in strikes that could occur at any moment.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Potential U.S. Strikes in Venezuela, U.S. Outreach in Central Asia

A flag displaying the logo for Russia's Lukoil oil giant flies near a Russian flag in Moscow on Oct. 23, 2025.

The sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil aim to financially coerce Russia into negotiating a ceasefire in Ukraine, but patchy enforcement and continued Asian demand for Russian crude will limit the impact.

New U.S. Sanctions Strike at the Heart of Russia's War Economy

Columns

On Geopolitics

Germany

Slovakia

Hungary

European Council President Antonio Costa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrive for a meeting of the European Council on Oct. 23. The EU pursuit of geopolitical independence is being severely tested by Russia's direct security aggression, China's control over critical raw materials and competing economic pressures from the United States.

The EU pursuit of geopolitical independence is being severely tested by Russia's direct security aggression, China's control over critical raw materials and competing economic pressures from the United States.

Europe's Dual Challenge From China and Russia

Iran

Syria

Turkey

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, hold a meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow on Oct.15, 2025. 

Syria's outreach to Russia could lead to diversified economic and security ties, help de-escalate tensions between Russia and Turkey, and eventually facilitate small steps toward Syria's rapprochement with Iran.

Syria-Russia Rapprochement Reinforces Damascus's Non-Confrontationalism

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) attends a lunch meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump (R) at the White House on Oct. 17, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 

Recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump suggest a significant U.S. pivot toward a negotiated settlement in Ukraine that prioritizes freezing the conflict and may involve territorial concessions favorable to Moscow.

Trump Signals Shift Toward Russian Position on Ukraine Ahead of Putin Meeting

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Australia

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Delegations from the United States and Russia, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, respectively, will meet this week to resume conversations about their countries' bilateral relationship and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: U.S. and Russian Delegations Meet, a Still-Fragile Hamas-Israel Ceasefire 

Russian flag on a cracked wall, illustrating an economic decline with a downward arrow. 

Despite high consumer confidence, underlying economic indicators show a significant contraction in non-defense industrial production, slowing consumption and falling investment, signaling that the Kremlin's war economy is steadily deteriorating.

Russia's War Economy Is Faltering

Ukraine launched overnight strikes using long-range "Long Neptune" cruise missiles, hitting Russia's Novorossiysk oil export hub, Reuters reported on Nov. 14.

Ukraine, Russia: Ukrainian Strikes Halt Novorossiysk Oil Exports, Heightening Risks for Russia and Kazakhstan

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States has nearly exhausted major sanctions options against Russia after targeting its largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in October, Politico reported on Nov. 13. 

U.S., Russia, Ukraine: Rubio Says Sanctions Near Limit as Russian Forces Advance in Pokrovsk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly demanded the resignations of his justice and energy ministers amid a sprawling corruption investigation, leading Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk to tender her resignation, Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform reported on Nov. 12.

Ukraine: Zelensky Forces Top Resignations Amid Energy Graft Scandal

Sub-Saharan Africa

Americas

Middle East and North Africa

Asia-Pacific

South Asia

Environment, Science & Technology

The International Energy Agency stated in its World Energy Outlook, published Nov. 12, that oil demand would not peak by 2050 unless current energy transition policies globally became more ambitious.

Global: IEA's 2025 World Energy Outlook Published With New Current Policies Scenario

In a wide-ranging interview to Russian media, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow had not announced or prepared any nuclear weapons tests, denying that it is following Washington's lead after U.S. President Donald Trump's comments about restarting U.S. testing, the Russian foreign ministry published on Nov. 12.

Russia: Lavrov Reemerges To Distance Moscow From Nuclear Escalation Talk

The Venezuelan government is setting up a guerrilla-style resistance and plans to create chaos in Caracas if the United States attacks the country, Reuters reported on Nov. 11.

Venezuela, U.S., Russia: Caracas Prepares Guerrilla Warfare To Counter U.S. Offensive

Russia fired hundreds of drones and over 30 hard-to-intercept ballistic and cluster munitions, destroying Ukraine's thermal power generation and targeting substations supplying its nuclear plants, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Nov. 10.

Ukraine, Russia: Ukraine Seeks IAEA Action After Russian Strikes Cripple Power Grid

Swiss commodity trader Gunvor withdrew its bid to acquire Russian oil giant Lukoil's international assets, including refineries, oilfields and retail networks in Europe, Iraq and Central Asia, after the U.S. Treasury Department publicly denounced the deal, calling Gunvor a Kremlin "puppet," and signaled it would not grant a sanctions waiver, Bloomberg reported Nov. 6.

Russia: Swiss Firm Gunvor Withdraws Bid To Buy Lukoil Assets After U.S. Calls It a Kremlin 'Puppet'

Eurasia

SITUATION REPORTS

Ukraine, Russia: Ukrainian Strikes Halt Novorossiysk Oil Exports, Heightening Risks for Russia and Kazakhstan

U.S., Russia, Ukraine: Rubio Says Sanctions Near Limit as Russian Forces Advance in Pokrovsk

Ukraine: Zelensky Forces Top Resignations Amid Energy Graft Scandal

Global: IEA's 2025 World Energy Outlook Published With New Current Policies Scenario

Russia: Lavrov Reemerges To Distance Moscow From Nuclear Escalation Talk

Venezuela, U.S., Russia: Caracas Prepares Guerrilla Warfare To Counter U.S. Offensive

Ukraine, Russia: Ukraine Seeks IAEA Action After Russian Strikes Cripple Power Grid

Russia: Swiss Firm Gunvor Withdraws Bid To Buy Lukoil Assets After U.S. Calls It a Kremlin 'Puppet'

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