October 10, 2025
TVP World - Putin’s Dushanbe visit highlights Russia’s waning influence
In an interview with TVP World, Bruce Pannier of the Caspian Policy Center said Russia “has not many friends in the world these days, and so they’ve got to do what they can to keep such friends as they have.”
He called the summit “one of the most lackluster” in years, noting that “Russia is slowly losing its influence in the region and grasping at straws.”
Pannier added that Moscow’s economic promises now pale beside Chinese and European offers, and warned that Central Asian states are “expanding their security relationship with Turkey” as Russia’s capacity to project power and invest diminishes.
Read the full interview at TVP World.
Bruce Pannier is a Research Fellow at the Turan Research Center.