Security

A Piece of Moscow in Latvia: a Deeper Look at the Russian Embassy in Riga

A Piece of Moscow in Latvia: a Deeper Look at the Russian Embassy in Riga

By Grace Zagoria in Security

August 28, 2025

On the corner of Ukrainian Independence Street in Riga – Ukrainas Neatkarības iela in Latvian – sits a building bathed in fading pastels, adorned with barbed wire and barred windows. This is the Russian Embassy to Latvia, guarded around the clock by the Latvian State Police and cordoned off with black rope that passersby are careful not to cross. Sticking out from seemingly every corner of the building’s edifice are security cameras, trained on anyone who dares to glance in the embassy’s vicinity.

Nuclear Proliferation in Poland and the Baltics: An American IR Student Perspective

Nuclear Proliferation in Poland and the Baltics: An American IR Student Perspective

By Todd Meltzer in Security

August 28, 2025

Introduction Since 1945, the topic of nuclear armaments has been on every country’s radar, shaping global geopolitics, defense strategies, and nuclear deterrence. In 2025, post-Soviet countries in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, still face tension with Russia’s imperialism, making the role of nuclear deterrence critical for European regional security and international security. In this context, I, as an American International Affairs student studying security policy, can offer a unique perspective into this critical topic.

Baltic Defense Line: Review on Enhanced Latvian Fortifications along the Russian Border

Baltic Defense Line: Review on Enhanced Latvian Fortifications along the Russian Border

By Vienne Abrahamian in Security

August 27, 2025

Introduction The 21st century has experienced a detrimental shift away from one of the most fundamental regulations of international stability since 1945: territorial borders should not be challenged with force or aggression. Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 defied international norms that aimed to set a precedent for national security and individual statehood. The subsequent invasions of Ukraine proved to the global community that Russia would go to extreme lengths to increase its sphere of influence over post-Soviet republics, causing widespread concern surrounding the idea that other countries could be next.

Memory as a Defense Mechanism: How Historical Sentiments Shape Latvia’s Current Security and Defense Policy

Memory as a Defense Mechanism: How Historical Sentiments Shape Latvia’s Current Security and Defense Policy

By Vienne Abrahamian in Security

August 27, 2025

Introduction Latvia is a country just short of two million people located in between the two other Baltic states, Estonia and Lithuania. It is a relatively small country with a geographical size of 64,594 square kilometers. From the outside looking in, Latvia may appear as a small, peripheral state on Europe’s northeastern edge; yet beneath its modest size lies a nation shaped by profound historical trauma, cultural resilience, and a deeply layered political identity.

Russia’s Rising Threat on Arctic Security

Russia’s Rising Threat on Arctic Security

By Vienne Abrahamian in Security

August 27, 2025

Introduction The Arctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere surrounding the North Pole, containing eight Arctic States: Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Finland, Sweden, and the United States. Around a decade ago, ice caps and glaciers largely prevented exploration of Arctic territory; however, rising global temperatures that impact the Arctic around three times as much as the rest of the world has caused ice caps to melt, glaciers to dissipate, and permafrost to thaw, profoundly changing the physical landscape of the area while increasing maritime accessibility.

Russia and the Baltics Since the Restoration of Independence

Russia and the Baltics Since the Restoration of Independence

By Lillian Mullins in Security

August 18, 2025

On May 4, 1990, the Republic of Latvia declared its independence from the Soviet Union, ending fifty years of occupation that began in 1940. Similarly, Lithuania and Estonia celebrated the 35th anniversary of their independence restoration in 2025 - Lithuania on March 11 and Estonia on March 30. As the Baltic States mark over three decades of sovereignty following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it becomes essential to analyze their evolving relationship with the Russian Federation, the Soviet Union’s successor state.

Major Russian Invasion of Ukraine Imminent

Major Russian Invasion of Ukraine Imminent

By Matthew Thomas in Security

January 21, 2022

Russia will invade Ukraine. It is no longer a matter of if, but when. Some pundits have been quick to point out that Russia already invaded Ukraine in 2014 and has been an occupier since then. This is true, but short of inventing some other barbarically cumbersome turn of phrase or vague milquetoast nonsense that fails to capture the urgency of the situation, an invasion is perhaps the best word available to describe what is on the horizon.

Russia Testing Western Resolve: How will the West Respond?

Russia Testing Western Resolve: How will the West Respond?

By Matthew Thomas in Security

December 4, 2021

From the Baltics, to Poland, to Ukraine, and even outer space, Russia has recently been testing Western resolve on numerous fronts. Perhaps most pressing of the myriad issues in recent news are the recent Russian military buildup around Ukraine and Belarus’ exploitation (with at least tacit Russian support) of migrants from the Middle East to wage hybrid war on Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania. Moving forward, how the West responds to these issues will play a major role in Russia’s course of action.

Estonia’s New Anti-Ship Missiles: Crucial Naval Capability and Overdue Strategic Shift to Sea

Estonia’s New Anti-Ship Missiles: Crucial Naval Capability and Overdue Strategic Shift to Sea

By Matthew Thomas in Security

October 29, 2021

Earlier this month, the Estonian Center for Defense Investment (ECDI) announced the purchase of Blue Spear 5G SSM land-to-sea missile systems from Israel. With a maximum range of 290 kilometers (approximately 180.2 miles), the Blue Spear missile system can reach targets across both the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea, and can also be used to strike both moving and stationary targets at sea in all weather conditions, day or night.

Zapad 2021: Spotlight on Belarus

Zapad 2021: Spotlight on Belarus

By Matthew Thomas in Security

September 30, 2021

For international observers, military exercises are a key litmus test of a country’s strengths and weaknesses. Likewise, they reflect that country’s view to the strategies of its supposed opponents. In that sense, this year’s Zapad (“West”) exercises conducted in Russia and Belarus were no different. They revealed Russia’s perceptions of the way the NATO will fight, given the still relatively unlikely event of war between the two. Likewise, the exercises remained highly scripted as in the past, and the scenarios involved were largely the same.

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