Editing Puppet state (section)

===Russia===
[[File:Евгений Шевчук и Александр Анкваб.jpg|thumb|210px|Abkhazian President [[Alexander Ankvab]] with Transnistrian President [[Yevgeny Shevchuk]] in 2013. Both Abkhazia and Transnistria have been described as puppet states of Russia.]]
* {{flag|Abkhazia|Republic of Abkhazia}} is considered a puppet state that is dependent on Russia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1272/georgia_and_russia_the_occupation_too_many_have_forgotten|title=Georgia and Russia: The occupation too many have forgotten|first=Luke|last=Coffey|publisher=thecommentator.com|date=1 June 2012|access-date=13 September 2017|archive-date=20 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220181039/http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1272/georgia_and_russia_the_occupation_too_many_have_forgotten|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Francis2011">{{cite book|last=Francis|first=Céline|title=Conflict Resolution and Status: The Case of Georgia and Abkhazia (1989–2008)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0HYNMc3cOIC&pg=PA92|access-date=13 September 2017|year=2011|publisher=VUBPRESS Brussels University Press|isbn=978-90-5487-899-5|pages=92–97}}</ref> The economy of Abkhazia is heavily integrated with Russia and uses the [[Russian ruble]] as its currency. About half of Abkhazia's state budget is financed with aid money from Russia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/no-clear-frontrunner-as-abkhazia-goes-to-poll/442702.html |title=No Clear Frontrunner as Abkhazia Goes to Poll |author=Nikolaus von Twickel |newspaper=The Moscow Times |date=26 August 2011}}</ref> Most Abkhazians have [[Russian passport|Russian passports]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18175030 |title=BBC News – Regions and territories: Abkhazia |work=BBC News |date=22 November 2011 |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] |location=London |access-date=19 January 2012}}</ref> Russia maintains a 3,500-strong force in Abkhazia with its headquarters in [[Gudauta District|Gudauta]], a former Soviet military base on the [[Black Sea]] coast<ref>{{cite news|url=http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20130419/180735302.html|work=RIA Novosti|title=Russian Troops in Abkhazia to Get Air-Conditioned APCs|date=19 April 2013}}</ref> and the borders of Abkhazia are protected by Russian paratroopers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190530-abkhazia-the-country-living-in-a-soviet-time-warp |author=Stephen Dowling|date=May 31, 2018|title=Abkhazia: The 'country' living in a Soviet time warp|publisher=BBC}}</ref> 
* {{flag|South Ossetia}} has declared independence but its ability to maintain independence is solely based on Russian troops deployed on its territory. As South Ossetia is landlocked between Russia and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], from which it seceded, it has relied on Russia for economic and logistical support, as all of its exports and imports and air and road traffic is only with Russia. Former President of South Ossetia [[Eduard Kokoity]] claimed he would like South Ossetia eventually to become a part of the Russian Federation through reunification with [[North Ossetia–Alania|North Ossetia]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/russia-insists-it-has-no-imperial-ambitions-for-ex-soviet-neighbours-1.937994|title=Russia insists it has no imperial ambitions for ex-Soviet neighbours|first=Daniel|last=McLaughlin|date=12 September 2008|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=26 June 2021}}</ref>
* The {{flag|Donetsk People's Republic}} (DPR) and the {{flag|Luhansk People's Republic}} (LPR) were self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine following the fallout from the [[Euromaidan]] protests and widely considered to be Russian puppet states.<ref name="twickel">{{cite web|url=https://css.ethz.ch/en/services/digital-library/articles/article.html/7b91e171-a779-43d3-9f24-35e8a88d8974|title=Russian Analytical Digest No 214: The Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine|website=[[ETH Zurich]]|author1=Nikolaus von Twickel |author2=Gwendolyn Sasse |author3=Mario Baumann}}</ref><ref name="korotkyi">{{cite book|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6265-222-4_7|title=The Legal Status of the Donetsk and Luhansk "Peoples' Republics"|author=Tymur Korotkyi, Nataliia Hendel|year=2018 |pages=145–170 |doi=10.1007/978-94-6265-222-4_7 |isbn=978-94-6265-221-7 }}</ref> Russia [[Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts of Ukraine|annexed]] the DPR and LPR on September 30, 2022, following the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]].
* {{flag|Transnistria}}, a conservative holdover of pro-Soviet forces from the [[Transnistria War]], is considered a puppet state sponsored by Russia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2014/0305/Is-Transnistria-the-ghost-of-Crimea-s-future-video|title=Is Transnistria the ghost of Crimea's future?|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|date=5 March 2014|access-date=25 October 2015|last=Robertson|first=Dylan C.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6265-141-8_2|chapter=Puppet States: A Growing Trend of Covert Occupation|doi=10.1007/978-94-6265-141-8_2|title=Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law Volume 18, 2015|year=2016|last1=Ivanel|first1=Bogdan|volume=18|pages=43–65|isbn=978-94-6265-140-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/35153/Owen_JD_T_2009.pdf|title=Neopatrimonialism and Regime Endurance in Transnistria}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781839107849/9781839107849.00014.xml|title=The European Unions position and practice with regard to unilateral and extraterritorial sanctions|first=Charlotte|last=Beaucillon|date=17 August 2021|journal=Research Handbook on Unilateral and Extraterritorial Sanctions|pages=110–129|doi=10.4337/9781839107856.00014 |isbn=9781839107856 |s2cid=238717787 |via=www.elgaronline.com}}</ref>
* {{flag|Belarus}} forms a [[Union State]] with Russia. It has been described as a Russian puppet state or ''de facto'' Russian since 2022, following the crushing of the [[2020–2021 Belarusian protests]] with Russian assistance and the staging of the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] from Belarus.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kuzio |first=Taras |author-link=Taras Kuzio |date=6 December 2022 |title=Russia must stop being an empire if it is wishes to prosper as a nation |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/russia-must-stop-being-an-empire-if-it-is-wishes-to-prosper-as-a-nation/ |access-date=27 January 2023 |website=[[Atlantic Council]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dempsey |first=Judy |author-link=Judy Dempsey |date=24 February 2022 |title=Judy Asks: Is Belarus's Sovereignty Over? |url=https://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/86512 |access-date=27 January 2023 |website=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Haltiwanger |first=Josh |date=14 December 2022 |title=Ukrainian forces are bracing for the possibility of another Russian invasion via Belarus: 'We have to be ready' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-bracing-for-possibility-of-another-russian-invasion-via-belarus-2022-12 |access-date=27 January 2023 |work=[[Business Insider]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=25 February 2022 |title=What Does Putin Really Want? |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/25/putin-russia-ukraine-invasion-endgame-experts-00011652 |access-date=27 January 2023 |work=[[Politico]]}}</ref>