On Friday, January 9, 2026, the HK+ Project Group of our Institute (Director: Professor Choi Woo-ik) held its annual seminar, “At the Crossroads of War and Peace: Prospects for Russia in 2026,” as part of the publication of the annual Russia Report. The Russia Report Seminar is a regular academic event held every January by our Institute to review the developments in Russia over the previous year and explore prospects for the year ahead. Although the Russia-Ukraine war remains ongoing, this year’s seminar also provided an opportunity to explore, from various perspectives, emerging discussions and prospects for the postwar period.

The seminar opened with welcoming remarks by Professor Choi Woo-ik, Director of the Russian Research Institute, and consisted of two sessions. The first session, moderated by Professor Je Sung-hoon of the Department of Russian at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), featured presentations by Hong Sung-woo, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Global Political Studies at HUFS; Park Ji-won, Research Fellow at the Korea Eximbank; and Lee Joo-yeon, Research Fellow at the Northeast Asian History Foundation. The presenters examined key issues and prospects in Russian domestic politics, the economy, and foreign relations. The second session was moderated by Hwang Sung-woo, HK Professor at the Russian Research Institute, and featured presentations by Kim Kyu-cheol, Visiting Researcher at the Russian Research Institute; Professor Song Jung-soo of Chung-Ang University; and Jeon Mi-ra, HK Research Professor at the Russian Research Institute. They reviewed developments in Russia over the past year from the perspectives of military and security affairs, Korea-Russia relations, and society and culture, respectively, and shared their analyses of notable events.

Following each presentation, designated discussants and approximately 40 participants exchanged views and engaged in discussions on the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on Russian society, international relations, and the academic field of Russian studies in Korea. The seminar also provided an opportunity to assess key developments and consider prospects for Russia in 2026. The papers presented at the seminar will be summarized and published online through Russia-Eurasia Focus, a column series issued by the Russian Research Institute, and will subsequently be published as an online book in March.