Dimitri MINIC
Research Fellow, Russia / Eurasia Center
Research Interests:
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Russian strategic thought
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Russian armed forces
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Russian political-strategic culture
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Threat perceptions
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Russian political-military elites
Dimitri Minic is a research fellow at the Ifri's Russia/Eurasia Center. He holds a doctorate in History of International Relations from Sorbonne University (2021) and is the author of Russian Strategic Thought and Culture: From the Bypassing of Armed Struggle to the War in Ukraine (Paris, Maison des sciences de l'homme, April 2023), based on his thesis and for which he received the Albert Thibaudet Prize. His research focuses on Russian strategic thinking, the Russian military, and Russian hybrid and high-intensity capabilities. He also works on the strategic culture of Russian political-military elites and the threats' perceptions.
The Russian army is very critical of its war in Ukraine. Not just of the first phase of the failed special military operation (SVO), which was inspired by the theorization of bypassing, but also of the strategic deterrence phase that preceded it.
The traditional and high-intensity war that has occurred in Ukraine since Russia decided to invade raises a key issue: did post-soviet Russian strategic thought really prepare Russia for waging this war?
On February 24, 2022, eight years after deploying an integrated military and non-military indirect strategy against Kiev, Vladimir Putin decided to initiate an open war against Ukraine.
After more than 200 blue stars were stenciled on buildings in and around Paris, prosecutors say they are investigating whether a foreign intermediary paid a couple to spray paint them.
The conflict between Hamas and Israel is both an opportunity and a risk for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been mired in pressing his invasion of Ukraine for the past 19 months.
The conflict between Hamas and Israel is both an opportunity and a risk for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been mired in pressing his invasion of Ukraine for the past 19 months.
The conflict between Hamas and Israel is both an opportunity and a risk for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been mired in pressing his invasion of Ukraine for the past 19 months.
For this Russian army specialist, at least part of the armed forces rallying behind the founder of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, cannot be ruled out.
According to the researcher, the failure of the Russian army in Ukraine is the result of the implementation of a theory that emerged in the 2000s, which places a central focus on 'psychological-informational' warfare rather than armed combat.
The Kremlin wanted Russia's invasion of Ukraine to yield a lightning victory, but 12 months on the war is dragging into a stalemate with neither side achieving military breakthrough nor prepared to agree a settlement based on the status quo.
Does the war in Ukraine change the prospect of European Union enlargement? What is the possibility and future of Europe's common foreign and security policy? Does russian aggression unite or unify Europe and what is the role of the European political community? What is Russia's ultimate...
Kyiv expects new recruits to appear within two months but Moscow struggles with training and logistical obstacles.
Following the last Ukrainian victories over the Russian Army in the Kharkiv oblast, Russian administration currently faces controversies. As a matter of fact, many question the degree of intensity Russian general staff has decided, avoiding for now general mobilization. According to Dimitri...