Russia and Eurasia

AZERBAIJAN KAZAKHSTAN RUSSIA UKRAINE 1998 2008 2018 1998 2008 2018 1998 2008 2018 1998 2008 2018 P op ul at io n in m ill io ns . In Russia, President Vladimir Putin has taken further steps to insulate the country from external pressure, including the establishment of a ‘sovereign internet’. Protests increased in the context of economic stagnation and a decline in Putin’s approval rating; the challenge was primarily to Putin’s authority, rather than his hold on power. . Ukrainian politics continued to surprise, with the election by a huge margin of a political novice, the actor Volodymyr Zelensky, as president in April 2019. His election underscored the continuing hunger in Ukrainian society for a change from the oligarchic system of politics, although effecting such change is a formidable task. . While the conflict in Donbas remained in stalemate, Russia and Ukraine clashed in the Sea of Azov as Russia opened a bridge over the Kerch Strait and sought to turn Azov, where Ukraine had opened a naval base, into a Russian lake. Russia seeks to use the conflict to destabilise Ukraine and frustrate Ukrainian efforts to achieve political and economic consolidation, or westernisation. . In Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev brought his 30-year presidency to an end, handing the post to the speaker of the Senate. The transition occurred peacefully, although Nazarbayev retains extensive powers and the full test of any transition may not come until he dies. 232 | Russia and Eurasia