In this series, Geopoliticalmonitor.com analyzes political fallout from the global plunge in oil prices. Part three focuses on Russia.

An uptick in fighting over the past month has done little to draw global attention to the civil war raging on Europe’s doorstep. But a US plan to arm government forces could change all that.

2015 will set the tone of US-Russia relations for decades to come.

With every crashing through of a symbolic threshold - $90, $80, $70, and now $60 – many are wondering: How low can the price of oil possibly go?

Global oil prices plummeted recently with OPEC’s declaration of a price war against shale producers. But just how much budgetary pain can oil-dependent countries like Russia, Iraq, and Iran take?

Whether a question of imperial relapse or simple economics, Moscow has long been trying to consolidate its influence in Central Asia through the Eurasian Economic Union. But some key regional governments are still not convinced.

A budgetary crisis in Moscow risks reigniting long-dormant insurgencies across the North Caucasus.

An assessment of Putin’s Ukraine strategy does not point to any quick resolution of the current conflict.

President Nazarbayev hoped that by bringing Russia closer as an economic partner, he would successfully snuff out any desire from Moscow to re-annex Kazakhstan as reclaimed Russian territory. It appears he may have been wrong.

Some view Moscow’s involvement in eastern Ukraine as proof of a resurgent Russia. But a look back at the Chechnya conflict would suggest otherwise.