The annual SPIEF forum in St.Petersburg is currently underway with a sizeable US delegation attending – we provide an event overview and the official programme. We also feature an extensive breakdown of Putin’s State visit to Kazakhstan, which includes plenty of detail concerning infrastructure and economic developments in Central Asia -and especially China-Russian connectivity issues. This also features an overview of discussions amongst the Eurasian Economic Union Supreme Council, which we expand upon to discuss the position Armenia now finds itself in. We also feature insights into the high-level meetings of the Commonwealth of Independent States that took place in Ashgabat, as well as the North Caucasus Investment Forum. These are essential articles for those interested in Central Asian affairs. Elsewhere, we feature an overview of what really happened during the French/UK arrest of a ‘Russian’ ship in the North Atlantic and the problems this poses, as well as substantial maritime agreements Russia has made with Indonesia and Vietnam. Also noteworthy are trade developments with India, the new digital transport drone developments between Russia and Kazakhstan, and the trends in Russia’s IPO market demand.