Russia Diplomatic Profile
Deeply entangled with China and dependent on Iran and North Korea, Moscow leads an axis of dissatisfied powers challenging Western dominance.
Moscow views itself less as a nation-state and more as a distinct civilization under siege by the West. Since ordering the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, President Vladimir Putin has gambled everything on reversing the post-Cold War order, prioritizing territorial expansion over integration. The divorce from Europe has been brutal; critical energy pipelines lie dormant, and sanctions have forced a frantic, unequal embrace of China. While Beijing provides cover, the relationship is increasingly asymmetrical, turning the Kremlin into a resource-rich junior partner. To break its diplomatic isolation, Russia courts the “Global Majority”—nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America—pitching itself as a bulwark against American hegemony. This strategy relies on transactional tools: cheap oil, grain exports, and the muscle of paramilitary groups like the Africa Corps. Despite distinct battlefield complications, the country’s economy has proven resilient through militarization. Moscow remains committed to a long war of attrition, banking on Western fatigue while deepening alliances with fellow pariahs like Iran and North Korea to sustain its war machine.
Key Interests
- Securing territorial control over Ukraine
- Mitigating sanctions through Asian trade
- Projecting power in the Global South
Russia Allies and Enemies
Russia's closest allies: Belarus (87), North Korea (75), Tajikistan (73), China (70), Kyrgyzstan (58).
Russia's top rivals: Ukraine (-97), Lithuania (-88), Latvia (-84), Poland (-83), Estonia (-83).
Of 202 countries, Russia has 26 allies, 123 neutral relationships, and 53 enemies.
Russia Relations by Dimension
Russia's closest military partners are Belarus (93), North Korea (92), Tajikistan (71). Most adversarial military relationships: Ukraine (-100), Lithuania (-92), Latvia (-91).
Russia's closest diplomatic partners are Belarus (84), China (73), North Korea (69). Most adversarial diplomatic relationships: Ukraine (-100), Lithuania (-95), Taiwan (-87).
Russia's closest regime relations partners are North Korea (92), Belarus (91), Tajikistan (88). Most adversarial regime relations relationships: Ukraine (-100), Lithuania (-95), Poland (-93).
Russia's closest societal relations partners are Belarus (72), Serbia (64), Kazakhstan (59). Most adversarial societal relations relationships: Ukraine (-100), Lithuania (-80), Kosovo (-76).
Russia's closest economic interdependence partners are Belarus (91), Kazakhstan (80), Tajikistan (77).
Russia's closest economic policy partners are North Korea (85), Belarus (80), Iran (65). Most adversarial economic policy relationships: Ukraine (-98), Italy (-92), United Kingdom (-92).
Russia’s Allies & Enemies
Closest Allies
Russia's closest allies are Belarus, North Korea, Tajikistan, China, and Kyrgyzstan. Russia's most adversarial relationships are with Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Estonia.
Global Relations
Diplomatic Profile
Deeply entangled with China and dependent on Iran and North Korea, Moscow leads an axis of dissatisfied powers challenging Western dominance.
Key Interests
Moscow views itself less as a nation-state and more as a distinct civilization under siege by the West. Since ordering the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, President Vladimir Putin has gambled everything on reversing the post-Cold War order, prioritizing territorial expansion over integration. The divorce from Europe has been brutal; critical energy pipelines lie dormant, and sanctions have forced a frantic, unequal embrace of China. While Beijing provides cover, the relationship is increasingly asymmetrical, turning the Kremlin into a resource-rich junior partner. To break its diplomatic isolation, Russia courts the “Global Majority”—nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America—pitching itself as a bulwark against American hegemony. This strategy relies on transactional tools: cheap oil, grain exports, and the muscle of paramilitary groups like the Africa Corps. Despite distinct battlefield complications, the country’s economy has proven resilient through militarization. Moscow remains committed to a long war of attrition, banking on Western fatigue while deepening alliances with fellow pariahs like Iran and North Korea to sustain its war machine.
Deeply entangled with China and dependent on Iran and North Korea, Moscow leads an axis of dissatisfied powers challenging Western dominance.
Of 202 countries, Russia has 26 allies, 123 neutral relationships, and 53 enemies.
By Dimension
Military
Russia’s closest military partners are Belarus, North Korea, and Tajikistan. Most adversarial: Ukraine, Lithuania, and Latvia.
Diplomatic
Russia’s closest diplomatic partners are Belarus, China, and North Korea. Most adversarial: Ukraine, Lithuania, and Taiwan.
Regime Relations
Russia’s closest regime relations partners are North Korea, Belarus, and Tajikistan. Most adversarial: Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland.
Societal Relations
Russia’s closest societal relations partners are Belarus, Serbia, and Kazakhstan. Most adversarial: Ukraine, Lithuania, and Kosovo.
Economic Interdependence
Russia’s closest economic interdependence partners are Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan.
Economic Policy
Russia’s closest economic policy partners are North Korea, Belarus, and Iran. Most adversarial: Ukraine, Italy, and United Kingdom.
Key Questions
Russia's alliance network has narrowed dramatically since the invasion. Belarus is the closest partner, with military cooperation at near-total alignment — essentially a joint military command. North Korea has become critical, supplying ammunition and reportedly troops in exchange for technology transfers. China provides the economic lifeline through strong diplomatic cooperation. After these three, the drop-off is steep: Tajikistan and Kazakhstan maintain ties through the CSTO but resist full alignment.
No. The fall of the Assad regime ended Russia's most significant Middle Eastern partnership. Russia had maintained military bases in Syria (Tartus naval base, Hmeimim air base) since intervening in the civil war, but Assad's collapse removed Russia's only Mediterranean military foothold. The new Syrian government has not maintained the same level of cooperation, significantly diminishing Russian power projection capability in the region.
Russia has by far the highest adversary count among major powers — roughly a quarter of all countries scored have a negative relationship with Moscow. Compare that to the US, China, or India, which each have far fewer adversaries. Only a small handful of countries have a positive relationship with Russia. The negative cluster is concentrated in Europe: the Baltic states, Finland, and the UK all score deeply adversarial. Ukraine is at the theoretical minimum across all four dimensions.
Strong but asymmetrical. Military cooperation and diplomatic alignment are solid — Beijing provides crucial economic support as Western sanctions bite. However, the relationship is increasingly unequal: Russia has become a resource-exporting junior partner to China's industrial economy. Regime relations reflect shared authoritarian governance models but distinct ideological frameworks. The societal dimension is notably weak, showing limited people-to-people affinity.
Russia-Ukraine sits at the absolute floor on every single dimension — military, diplomatic, regime relations, and societal. This is the only bilateral relationship in the entire dataset at the theoretical minimum across all four measures. The conflict has also reshaped Russia's relationships with dozens of other countries: Finland and Sweden joined NATO, and former neutral states across Europe shifted to deeply negative scores with Moscow.
Russia courts the 'Global Majority' through cheap oil, grain exports, and the Africa Corps (formerly Wagner Group) paramilitary operations. However, these relationships mostly register as neutral rather than positive — most African and Latin American nations hedge rather than align. Russia's positive relationships are concentrated in the former Soviet space (Belarus, Central Asian states) and a handful of fellow pariah states (North Korea, Iran). Iran shows strong military and regime relations alignment with Russia.
North Korea has become Russia's second-most important military partner, scoring near the top of the scale on both military cooperation and regime relations. Pyongyang supplies artillery shells and reportedly personnel for the Ukraine front, while Moscow provides technology, energy, and diplomatic cover at the UN Security Council. The relationship has deepened rapidly, with Putin visiting Pyongyang and signing a mutual defense pact. However, societal relations remain very weak, reflecting the near-total isolation of North Korean society.