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A see-off ceremony for newly recruited soldiers is held on September 16, 2025, in Fuyang, China. (Getty Images)
Russia
Russia
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Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 24, 2024. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)
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A shirt bearing the first logo of the Wagner Group is displayed in Moscow, Russia, on May 12, 2023. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)
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Vladimir Putin walks prior to his inauguration ceremony in Moscow on May 7, 2024. (Sergei Bobylyov/AFP via Getty Images)
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Russia's President Putin and Burkina Faso's interim military president Traoré can be seen together on a poster with the slogan "Support for the transition" in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on March 5, 2024. (Christina Peters/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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Giant Pandas Qing Bao and Bao Li arrive in Dulles, Virginia, on October 15, 2024. (Craig Hudson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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The presidents of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates attend the narrow format meeting of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 23, 2024. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov on October 21 2024, in Razdory, Russia. (Getty Images)
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The Russian foreign minister and the deputy foreign minister of the Taliban government in Afghanistan attend the Moscow Format in Moscow, Russia, on October 4, 2024. (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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A Russian serviceman stands guard by a military truck on the island of Alexandra Land on May 17, 2021. (Maxime Popov/AFP via Getty Images)
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(Rising Axis logo)
Commentary
Experts
Luke Coffey
Senior Fellow, Center on Europe and Eurasia
Can Kasapoğlu
Senior Fellow (Nonresident)
Nate Sibley
Fellow and Director, Kleptocracy Initiative
Richard Weitz
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Political-Military Analysis
