National Security Archives - Robert Lansing Institute

Elections Without Limits: Russia’s Expanding Influence in the Central African Republic

US News has published an article stating that Central African Republic (CAR) President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, who has been in power since 2016 and is closely linked to Russia, has announced his bid…

December 24, 2025African Corps, CAR, gold, Russia, Wagner Group

Democracy Geopolitics Governance ideology National Security

From Partner to Principal Threat: How Russia Chose Confrontation—and What It Could Have Been

In first speech after taking office, Blaise Metreweli, the head of Britain’s intelligence service MI6, warned that Russia represents an aggressive, expansionist, and revisionist threat. Metreweli stated that assassination plots, sabotage, cyberattacks, and…

December 16, 2025Russia

Geopolitics National Security Warfare

From Tehran to the Frontlines: Russia’s Expanding Global Recruitment Campaign for the War in Ukraine

In December 2025, reports emerged that Russia has begun a large-scale campaign to recruit Iranian citizens to fight in its war against Ukraine. Throughout multiple cities in the Islamic Republic…

December 12, 2025Iran, Russia, Ukraine

Governance National Security

The Failure of Export Controls: A Legislative Blueprint to Prevent Technology from Powering Russia’s War Machine

On December 10, 2025, Bloomberg reported that five lawsuits had been filed in a Texas court against Intel Corp., Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Texas Instruments, and Mouser Electronics—a distributor owned by Warren…

December 11, 2025Russia, Sanctions, USA

Geoeconomics Intelligence ops National Security

Shadow Diplomacy: Moscow’s Use of Former Illegals to Access India’s High-Tech Ecosystem

A former deep-cover Russian intelligence officer, whose clandestine identity was exposed in 2010 after his arrest in the United States, is now at the forefront of the Kremlin’s efforts to…

December 10, 2025India, Russia, Sanctions

Intelligence ops National Security

Russia’s Intelligence Infrastructure in Mexico:

A Strategic Challenge to U.S. National Security and Hemispheric Stability Over the past decade, Mexico has become one of the most strategically important operational hubs for Russian intelligence in the…

December 9, 2025Mexico, Russia, USA

Conflict Geopolitics National Security

Russia’s Naval Base in Sudan: A Strategic Foothold on the Red Sea Limiting U.S. Operational Freedom Near the Suez Canal

Russia’s negotiations with Sudan to establish a permanent naval facility in Port Sudan represent one of Moscow’s most consequential strategic moves outside the post-Soviet space. A Russian base on the…

December 4, 2025Russia, Sudan, USA

Intelligence ops National Security Propaganda and Disinformation

Orthodoxy as Cover: Russia’s Intelligence Operations Through Church Structures in Northern Europe”

The Church of Sweden has issued a recommendation advising parishes not to host nuns from the Belarusian St. Elisabeth Convent. The warning follows public criticism after a parish in Täby,…

December 2, 2025Russia, Sweden

Geopolitics Governance Intelligence ops National Security

Mali as a Russian Bridgehead: The Kremlin’s Expansion and the Erosion of U.S. Power in the Sahel”

Russia, entering Mali under the pretext of “assistance in overcoming the fuel crisis,” is in fact constructing a new infrastructure of influence that directly undermines U.S. interests in the Sahel.…

November 25, 2025Mali, Russia, USA

Healthcare National Security

The Next Black Swan? Assessing the Pandemic Potential of Marburg Virus”

Marburg virus disease (MVD) — caused by the Marburg virus — is a hemorrhagic-fever pathogen in the same family as Ebola. It is rare but highly lethal in past outbreaks. While…

November 17, 2025Marburg

National Security