Over the past decade, Russia has made repeated attempts to demonstrate its growing power to the world. There are two main objectives behind these attempts: to obtain international recognition as a superpower and to coerce other states into partnership. Both goals are based on the political elite’s belief that Russia should be included on that list a priori by virtue of its huge territory, nuclear arsenal and economic potential. READ MORE

Last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates complained that Russia’s foreign policy when it came to was “schizophrenic.” I would argue that it is less a case of schizophrenia, and more a reflection of the fact that Russia does not have a singular foreign policy, but multiple foreign policies. READ MORE

Chancellor Angela Merkel has weighed in on Germany's ongoing nuclear energy debate, saying the country needs to run its nuclear energy plants for at least 10 more years to keep energy costs down and ensure demand is met. READ MORE

Russian energy giant Gazprom wants Lithuania to hold talks on plans to unbundle the gas sector, as doing so would hurt its investment in the country, the company said in a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday (25 August), which also threatens court action. Lithuania reacted strongly to the pressure. READ MORE