Bulletin No. 10 (184) 2026
May 25, 2026Putin in China; Ukraine: A Shifting Debate; Nuclear Exercises; New Governors in Belgorod and Bryansk; Challenging Elections
OVERVIEW OF KEY TRENDS
IN FOCUS
Putin In China
First, Trump
Second, Putin
China and the Two Wars
SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS
Ukraine: the Beginning of the End?
The US Takes a Breather
Questions Rise
Nuclear Drills
A Larger Nuclear Signal
Nuclear Environment
The New Governor of Belgorod Region
The Gladkov Phenomenon
Dark Horse
The New Governor of Bryansk Region
Bogomaz is Out
Technocrat is In
Challenging Elections
United Russia as a “Therapist”
Communists Under Pressure
INDICATORS
Views on the State of the Country
Consumer Sentiment
R.Politik RECOMMENDS
Kremlin.ru
Brief presentation
Putin came to Beijing four days after Trump, and neither arrived in his best shape. The visit produced no Power of Siberia 2 and no significant agreements, yet it confirmed China's place as the key player whose economy helps Russia sustain the war. Beijing abstains from pressuring Putin to end it while holding to its position that it should end. Russia and China continue to deepen their strategic partnership — and with it Russia's dependence — and the commercial and economic frictions and disagreements between them, real as they are, do not touch that closeness. The issue examines where the two sides remain apart, what Putin's delegation says about Russia's reliance on the Chinese market and finance, and why the partnership grows more valuable to Moscow even as its tone cools.
SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS
Ukraine. Russia moves towards a fresh escalation as the talks stall — and, for the first time, loyalist voices begin to argue openly that the war cannot be won by force.
Nuclear exercises. The largest joint Russia–Belarus nuclear drill to date, and the first to fold Belarusian units publicly into a full rehearsal of nuclear command.
Two new governors. Belgorod and Bryansk go to a combat general and a technocrat — telling us volumes about wartime personnel policy.
The Duma campaign. The Kremlin tells United Russia to soften its register before September, even as the pressure it does not control continues.
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