FPRI’s Black Sea Initiative analyzes the region from the perspective of security, domestic politics, economics, and energy. Home to the protracted conflicts in Moldova, Georgia, and now Ukraine, surrounded by major geopolitical actors such as Russia and Turkey, EU member states – Bulgaria and Romania, and crucial energy transit routes,  the challenges of the Black Sea region influence all of Europe and Eurasia. We closely monitor these issues through our series of publications including the Black Sea Strategy Papers, BMB Ukraine, and other FPRI publications. Over the past five years we have built a sizable network of scholars and experts both in the United States and in the Black Sea region itself. We support their work by sponsoring field research, publishing their findings, and organizing public and private lectures, briefings, and conferences. 
 
Follow us on Twitter@BlackSeaFPRI . 

China’s Georgian Gamble

As Georgia pivots away from the West and slides into dictatorship, China emerges as its key strategic partner. While Washington and Brussels struggle to find transatlantic unity and craft a unified approach to Russia and Ukraine, Beijing methodically expands...

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Russian Influence Operations in Georgia: A Threat to Democracy and Regional Stability

Introduction Russia’s influence operations in Georgia represent one of the Black Sea region’s most comprehensive hybrid warfare campaigns. The Kremlin has employed military intervention and territorial occupation, economic embargos, energy leverages, political co-optation, corruption, and information warfare. The Kremlin’s...

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A Deal with Russia at Ukraine’s Expense Will Not Bring Peace

Discussions of possible ceasefire negotiations in the war between Russia and Ukraine focus on the concessions that Ukraine could make to stop the hot phase of the war. At the same time, a realistic assessment of the prospects for...

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Trade Corridor Wars: Escalating Competition Between China, Russia, Iran and the West

Contemporary conflicts are increasingly orchestrated across multiple nations and domains, manifesting in many ways, from conventional ground engagements to strategic influence operations. The informal coalition of China, Iran, Russia, and most recently North Korea (CIRN) represents a counter-influence regional...

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Turkey’s Evolving Geopolitical Strategy in the Black Sea

Executive Summary  Turkey’s strategic position between Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia places it at a pivotal crossroads in Eurasian geopolitics, particularly as regional conflicts reshape power dynamics and international alliances. Turkey’s strategic significance has long been underscored...

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Moldova’s Critical Decision Between Europe and Russia

The upcoming October 20th presidential election in Moldova is set to be a pivotal moment for the country. While Russia’s war in neighboring Ukraine continues into its third year, Moldova is navigating a path toward EU accession with the...

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Georgian and US Elections: Defining the Next Chapter for the South Caucasus

The following report was produced in partnership with the Applied Policy Research Institute Armenia.  Executive Summary The article examines the significant geopolitical ramifications of the upcoming 2024 elections in the Republic of Georgia and the United States, in relation...

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Russia’s Information War in Moldova

Introduction Historically, Russia has done everything it can to keep countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union in its so-called “sphere of influence” as far from the West’s orbit as possible. However, in recent years, some of...

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Ukraine’s Argument For Striking Back

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, August 30, Russia launched five glide bombs toward Kharkiv. One bomb obliterated the entrance of a twelve-story residential building, where a seventy-one-year-old burned alive. Another killed a fourteen-year-old girl sitting on a bench in...

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What Ukraine’s Kursk Incursion Tells Us About Putin’s Russia

In early August, the Ukrainian army broke into Russia and, virtually undeterred, rapidly advanced seizing a significant area of the borderline region of Kursk. Given that this was the first foreign invasion of Russia since World War II, Russia’s...

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