Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who is the president of Russia. Putin has held continuous positions as president or prime minister since 1999:as prime minister from 1999 to 2000 and from 2008 to 2012,and as president from 2000 to 2008 and since 2012. He is the longest-serving Russian or Soviet leader since Joseph Stalin.
Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin is a Russian far-right political philosopher.
Alina Maratovna Kabaeva or Kabayeva is a Russian politician,media manager and retired individual rhythmic gymnast,who has been designated Honoured Master of Sports by the Russian government.
Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov is a Russian politician. He was chairman of the Federation Council,the upper house of the Russian parliament,from 2001 to 2011. He leads the faction A Just Russia in the Parliament of Russia.
Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin is a Russian nationalist politician serving as the senator from the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye Oblast since 23 September 2023. He previously served as director general of Roscosmos from 2018 to July 2022,as deputy prime minister in charge of the defense industry from 2011 to 2018,and as Russia's ambassador to NATO from 2008 to 2011.
Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov is a Russian politician and businessman. He was First Deputy Chief of the Russian Presidential Administration from 1999 to 2011,during which time he was often viewed as the main ideologist of the Kremlin who proposed and implemented the concept of sovereign democracy in Russia. From December 2011 until May 2013,Surkov served as the Russian Federation's Deputy Prime Minister. After his resignation,Surkov returned to the Presidential Executive Office and became a personal adviser of Vladimir Putin on relationships with Abkhazia,South Ossetia and Ukraine. He was removed from this duty by presidential order in February 2020.
William Joseph Burns is an American diplomat and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Biden administration since March 19,2021. He previously served as U.S. deputy secretary of state from 2011 to 2014;in 2009 he served as acting secretary of state for a day,prior to the confirmation of Hillary Clinton. Burns retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in 2014 after a 32-year career. From 2014 to 2021,he served as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Alexander Vasilyevich Bortnikov is a Russian intelligence officer who has served as the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) since 2008. He is one of the most powerful members of the silovik faction of president Vladimir Putin's inner circle. A Hero of the Russian Federation since 2019,he also holds the rank of General of the Army,the second highest grade in use in the Russian military. According to some experts,it is likely Bortnikov played a key role in Putin's decision to invade Ukraine in 2022.
Since their independence from the Soviet Union,Georgia and Ukraine have forged close political and cultural relations. The diplomatic relations between the two nations are realized at the level of embassies and consulates. Due to the prosecution in Georgia of Georgian/Ukrainian politician Mikheil Saakashvili and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,relations between the two countries have soured significantly.
The most popular sport in Russia is soccer. According to Yandex search analysis results rating of the most popular sports among Russians:"Football topped the list of the most popular sports in Russia" with 5 to 10 million requests. Ice hockey came in second with handball,basketball,futsal,boxing,auto racing,volleyball,athletics,tennis,and chess rounding out the top ten rankings. Other popular sports include bandy,biathlon,figure skating,weightlifting,gymnastics,wrestling,martial arts,rugby union,and skiing.
Canada–Russia relations are the bilateral relations between Canada and Russia,the world's two largest countries in terms of area. Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,relations became very tense after Canada imposed sanctions against Russia. Russia placed Canada on a list of "unfriendly countries",along with Taiwan,South Korea,Japan,Singapore,the United States,European Union members,NATO members,Australia,New Zealand,Switzerland,Micronesia and Ukraine.
The State of Israel is represented in the Russian Federation through an embassy in Moscow and a consulate-general in Yekaterinburg. Russia is represented in Israel through an embassy in Tel Aviv and a consulate in Haifa. Russia is a member of the Quartet on the Middle East. For many years,Israel was a haven for Russian Jews. This was especially the case during the aliyah from the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1990s. Israel and the Soviet Union,Russia's predecessor state,were on opposing sides during the Cold War. However,the relationship between Israel and Russia has improved significantly since the early 2000s,with the election of the more pro-Israel Russian leader Vladimir Putin,and the election of the more pro-Russia Israeli leader Ariel Sharon. Putin has had a close relationship with long-serving Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Russia–Singapore relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the two countries,Russia and Singapore. Russia has an embassy in Singapore. Singapore has an embassy in Moscow. Both countries are full members of APEC. Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,relations became very tense after Singapore imposed sanctions against Russia. Russia placed Singapore on a list of "unfriendly countries" along with Taiwan,South Korea,Japan,the United States,European Union members,NATO members,Canada,Australia,New Zealand,Norway,Switzerland,Micronesia and Ukraine.
Carlos Pascual is a Cuban-American diplomat and the former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and Ukraine under President Barack Obama and Bill Clinton respectively. He served at the U.S. Agency for international Development from 1983 to 1995,and at the White House National Security Council from 1995 to 2000,ultimately as senior director for Russia,Ukraine and Eurasia. He was the State Department Coordinator for U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia,and subsequently the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization from 2003 to 2005. Later he served at the Brookings institution and was appointed Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the State Department's Bureau of Energy from 2011 to 2014.
The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,also known as the SDN List,is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists,officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes,and international criminals. The list is managed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). When individuals are added to the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN),their U.S. assets are blocked. Moreover,their names are added to automated screening systems used by banks in the United States and many foreign countries,making it difficult for them to open or hold accounts,transfer money,or transact properties internationally. Any individual or entity that provides support related to terrorism,drug trafficking or unauthorized military use to any person or entity appearing on the SDN list risks being penalized under the USA PATRIOT Act.
The future enlargement of the Eurasian Economic Union is theoretically open to any of the post-Soviet states and potentially any country of Europe or Asia. In order to accede,a state must fulfill certain economic and political requirements. Enlargement of the Eurasian Economic Union is also subject to the consent of all existing members and the candidate's adoption of existing EEU laws and implementing previous decisions made by the Eurasian Economic Commission. The present agenda of the enlargement of the Eurasian Economic Union is primarily focused on Tajikistan. Meanwhile,Moldova was granted Observer Status in April 2017,followed by Uzbekistan and Cuba in December 2020. The process of enlargement is referred to as Eurasian integration or Eurasianism. This term is also used to refer to the intensification of economic cooperation between Eurasian Economic Union member states.
Fiona Hill is a British-American foreign affairs specialist and author. She is a former official at the U.S. National Security Council,specializing in Russian and European affairs. She was a witness in the November 2019 House hearings regarding the impeachment inquiry during the first impeachment of Donald Trump. She studied Russian at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and at Harvard University in the US,where she earned a Ph.D. in history in 1998. She was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. She was installed as Chancellor of Durham University in June 2023,and was appointed defence advisor to the UK government following the election of a Labour government in July 2024.
This is a timeline of events related to Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.
Sergiy Olehovych Kyslytsya is a Ukrainian career diplomat,who serves as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations. He had previously served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2014–2019).
The United States has supported Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. After it began on 24 February 2022,President Joe Biden condemned the invasion,provided military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine,and sanctioned Russia and Belarus,the two countries most involved in invading Ukraine.
