Stephen Sestanovich, CFR’s top Russia expert, says despite the stage-managed appearance of Russia’s political transition, jockeying among power factions is taking place behind the scenes.

Stephen R. Sestanovich, a former ambassador-at-large and special adviser to the secretary of state for newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, says the parliamentary elections set for Mo…

Russian analyst Andrei A. Piontkovsky says the next U.S. president could face a more conciliatory policy from the Kremlin and new Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.

Ukraine faces descent into prolonged civil conflict unless a political deal can be forged among ruling party moderates, oligarchs, and opposition leaders, says expert Adrian Karatnycky.

China’s Communist Party Congress will affirm new top leaders, but little is known about their selection or how they will guide the country, says CFR’s Jerome Cohen.