Contrary to the rhetoric coming out of the Kremlin, the Russian economy is faltering. After years of growth propped up by military spending, Russia's economy slowed to a standstill in 2025. Unfortunately, the energy trade remains just strong enough to sustain Russian tax revenues: without the steady inflow of hard currency from energy exports, Russia would be unable to continue its murderous invasion of Ukraine. This dependence on energy exports is a vulnerability the West has never fully expl

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For about 1,500 years, high-value goods were moved from China (and perhaps other parts of Asia) to Europe and the Middle East via the Silk Road. The precise route varied over time, but it always ran through and involved local traders in parts of what we now call Central Asia. Today, trade through Central Asia is bustling again, with the Caucasus also getting in on the act. But now the boom is in goods moving from the United States, Japan, Western Europe, and China to Russia,