Bad Boys Stick Together: Russia’s Ties with “Pariah States”

• Dossier Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia
  by Eleonora Tafuro Ambrosetti and Giada Bilancioni
• whatsapp

As tensions escalate in the Gulf, Russia's alignment with pariah states like Iran has returned to the centre of global debate, raising fresh questions about the resilience of such partnerships amid Moscow's deepening isolation under Western sanctions.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a clear breach of international law, triggered unprecedented Western sanctions and efforts to turn Moscow into a pariah state. Today, Russia is among the most sanctioned countries in the world. While there is intense debate over how isolated it truly is and whether it fits the classic "pariah" definition, the war's fallout has driven Russia to deepen ties with non-Western pariah states, reshaping its global positioning. This trend has acquired fresh urgency with the current crisis in the Gulf, sparked by the Israeli-American attack on Iran at the end of February.

Which pariah states have expanded ties with Russia, especially after 2022? How does "inter-pariah solidarity" play out in concrete terms? Has Russia's war on Ukraine changed the power balance in Russia's bilateral relations with pariah states? How might the war in the Middle East and possible regime changes worldwide reshape Moscow's bilateral relationship and its wider network of pariah states?