#India's Gold Reserves

[jaisaxenaa]

Explore the enduring allure of gold, symbolizing prosperity and stability, as we delve into India's prominence on the global stage. Delve into the world of statistics to uncover India's stature in gold reserves. Dive into the top nations leading in gold reserves and witness India's unique affinity to this radiant metal. Also, where to sell your precious possessions with 24Karat.

[todayworldnews2k21]

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme SGB 2016-17 Series III Final Redemption On November 16: How Much Money Will You Get?

New Delhi: You may go for final redemption of the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2016-17 Series III issued November 2016. “SGB 2016-17 Series III – Issue date November 17, 2016) on Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme, the Gold Bond shall be repayable on the expiration of eight years from the date of issue of the Gold Bonds. Accordingly, the final redemption date of the above tranche shall be November 16, 2024…

[mohit-mathur]

Gold Prices Set to Drop Starting August 1: Reasons and opportunity

Gold, the glittering yellow metal, has always been a symbol of wealth and a preferred investment for Indians. Traditionally, gold prices in India have been influenced by various global and domestic factors, including international market trends, currency fluctuations, and local demand and supply dynamics. As of August 1, gold prices are set to see a significant drop, creating both challenges and…

[ingridfontanadigital]

[myra-joshi]

The Rise of Digital Gold and Gold ETFs on Akshaya Tritiya

Akshaya Tritiya, also known as Akha Teej, is a special day for buying valuable items like gold, diamonds, vehicles, and more. It's believed to bring good luck, success, and prosperity if you make investments on this day.

Buying gold on Akshaya Tritiya has been a tradition for a long time, but nowadays, people are also exploring other options like digital gold, Sovereign Gold Bonds, Gold ETFs, and gold-linked stocks.

Digital gold, Gold ETFs, and Sovereign Gold Bonds have become more popular recently. Many people, especially younger investors, find it easier to buy gold through digital platforms rather than going to physical stores.

The price of gold in Delhi NCR is currently Rs 71,700 per 10 grams, compared to Rs 61,300 per 10 grams last year on Akshaya Tritiya. This means the one-year return on 24-carat gold is around 19%. Over the last 15-20 years, gold has delivered returns of about 12-13% on Akshaya Tritiya.

Gold ETFs are like stocks that invest in gold. They have become more popular, especially during the pandemic. The Assets Under Management (AUM) for Gold ETFs have grown significantly, showing a strong trend of investment in Gold ETFs.

Investing in Gold ETFs has several advantages, including liquidity, cost-effectiveness, and security. It eliminates the need for storing physical gold and provides the flexibility of investing on the stock exchange.

Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) are government-backed securities that offer a secure way to own gold. They have an eight-year maturity period and can be bought directly from the government or from the stock market.

SGBs are tax-efficient and offer an interest of 2.5% per year in addition to capital gains from gold. Long-term capital gains from bond transfers benefit from indexation when SGBs are held until maturity, which exempts gains from tax.

Overall, while buying gold on Akshaya Tritiya can be a good opportunity, it's important to consider your preferences and risks. Both Gold ETFs and SGBs offer unique benefits, so it's important to choose based on your investment goals and needs.

[shreemetalprices12]

The Federal Reserve could cease raising interest rates earlier than expected, according to softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data. Which led to higher gold prices in Asian trading on Thursday. Growing recessionary fears also encouraged safe-haven buying.

[thelostdreamsthings]

"Putin is isolated."

BRICS, 50% of the World population is telling a big "fuck off" to the arrogant, declining and decadent G7 amounting to 10% of the World's population.

🇺🇳🇷🇺 UN Secretary General Guterres respectfully bows and shakes the hand of Putin in Russia’s Kazan at the BRICS summit.

A lot of people start crying and scream hysterically when they see this picture, for some reason.

[BRICS Currency Looms Large: Could This Be the Beginning of the End for U.S. Dollar Dominance?

For decades, the U.S. dollar has been weaponized as a tool of global dominance, wielded by the American empire to enforce its geopolitical will.

Through sanctions, coercive financial practices, and the threat of exclusion from the dollar-based system, the U.S. has effectively terrorized nations across the world.

The pretense of a “free market” economy has long been shattered by Washington's aggressive use of the dollar as a weapon to cripple economies, isolate adversaries, and exert control over global trade.

But the world is growing tired—sick and tired—of this financial tyranny. And now, with the rise of BRICS, we may be witnessing the beginning of the end for U.S. dollar supremacy.

BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—represent a bloc of nations that together account for nearly half of the global population and a significant chunk of the world’s GDP.

For years, these nations have been quietly collaborating to counterbalance the West's stranglehold over international finance, and now, they are inching closer to launching their own currency.

The creation of a BRICS currency signals an outright challenge to the dollar-dominated global economy, and it is nothing short of a revolt against American financial imperialism.

Why is this happening? The answer is simple: countries are fed up with being bullied. The U.S. has used its currency like a sledgehammer, smashing nations that dare to defy its hegemony.

Whether through sanctions on Iran, Venezuela, or Russia, or by financially suffocating smaller nations into submission, the dollar has become a tool of coercion rather than commerce.

Nations who once played by the rules of the so-called “global order” have found themselves punished, their economies crippled, and their people starved—merely for refusing to kowtow to Washington's dictates.

But BRICS is offering an alternative. The creation of a BRICS currency, backed by the economic strength of its member nations, offers the world a way out of the suffocating grip of the dollar.

This is not just about financial autonomy—it’s about reclaiming sovereignty, independence, and the right to conduct trade without the constant threat of U.S. interference.

Russia and China have been leading the charge in this effort, driven in part by the U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow following the Ukraine conflict and the ongoing trade war with Beijing.

Both countries have moved aggressively to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar, increasing trade with each other and with other BRICS members in their local currencies.

They are laying the groundwork for a currency that could be based on a basket of commodities, potentially gold-backed, further weakening the grip of the U.S. dollar on the global market.

The U.S. has long prided itself on its role as the issuer of the world’s reserve currency, but this dominance was never guaranteed to last forever.

The BRICS currency threatens to dismantle the global financial architecture that has allowed the U.S. to live far beyond its means.

For decades, the U.S. has run massive deficits, printing money at will, secure in the knowledge that the world would continue to rely on the dollar.

But as BRICS nations move to establish their own currency, that privilege could evaporate overnight.

The implications for the U.S. are dire. If the dollar loses its status as the world’s reserve currency, the U.S. economy could face a severe reckoning.

The artificial demand for dollars that has kept interest rates low and allowed the U.S. to run massive debt could vanish, leading to inflation, higher borrowing costs, and potentially a fiscal crisis.

The American empire, propped up for so long by its control of global finance, could find itself in rapid decline.

For the rest of the world, however, the rise of a BRICS currency represents hope—a chance to escape the iron grip of U.S. financial imperialism. No longer will countries have to fear the punitive measures of the U.S. Treasury.

No longer will they have to worry about being cut off from the global financial system for standing up to American bullying.

The creation of a new currency could usher in a multipolar world, where nations are free to trade without being subject to the whims of a single superpower.

Of course, the U.S. will not go quietly. Washington will likely pull out all the stops to crush the BRICS currency before it can gain traction. The playbook will be the same: propaganda, financial sabotage, and even the threat of military intervention.

But this time, the world may not be so easily intimidated. The BRICS nations, backed by their vast resources and burgeoning economies, are prepared to stand their ground.

In the end, the creation of a BRICS currency is not just an economic development—it’s a revolutionary act. It’s a declaration that the age of American financial dominance is coming to an end, and that a new world is on the horizon.

The U.S. dollar, once seen as the bedrock of global stability, has become a symbol of oppression, and the world is ready to move on.

The question now is not whether the U.S. dollar will fall, but when. And as BRICS moves closer to launching its own currency, that day may be sooner than anyone expects.

The empire, long propped up by its financial manipulation, is facing a reckoning—one that could change the course of history.]

IMF Growth Forecast: 2024

🇮🇳India: 7.0% (BRICS)

🇨🇳China: 4.8% (BRICS)

🇷🇺Russia: 3.6% (BRICS)

🇧🇷Brazil: 3.0% (BRICS)

🇺🇸US: 2.8% (G7)

🇸🇦KSA: 1.5% (invited to BRICS)

🇨🇦Canada: 1.3% (G7)

🇿🇦RSA: 1.1% (BRICS)

🇬🇧UK: 1.1% (G7)

🇫🇷France: 1.1% (G7)

🇮🇹Italy: 0.7% (G7)

🇯🇵Japan: 0.3% (G7)

🇩🇪Germany: 0.0% (G7)

‼️ 159 out of 193 countries have signed up to use the new BRICS settlement system.

US and European Union will no longer be able to use economic sanctions as a weapon.

This system allows countries to settle trades and payments in their own currencies, reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar, which has long been the dominant global currency.

[ptseti]

FVCKING FACTS

DOLLAR IS JUST PAPER

At the 16th annual BRICS summit (22-24 October), member states adopted the ‘Kazan Declaration’, with provisions to strengthen multilateralism, enhance cooperation for global and regional stability and security, foster economic and financial cooperation, and strengthen people-to-people exchanges for social and economic development. They also approved a BRICS ‘grain exchange’ to ensure food stability.

Some, like Zimbabwe-born motivational speaker Joshua Maponga in this clip, argue that fiat currencies, like the US dollar, Euro, British pound and Japanese yen, should be abandoned in favour of a gold-backed system.

At the summit, the bloc of five original members (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) plus four new members (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates) welcomed using local currencies for transactions between BRICS countries and their trading partners.

Many African presidents have called for de-dollarisation, but the biggest win may be when Saudi Arabia pulls away from a decades-old petrodollar deal with the US.

The US dollar was pegged to gold’s value until US President Richard Nixon (1913-94) removed the gold standard in 1971. Since then, the US has printed the world’s reserve currency at will, sealing its status as a global hegemon.

So, how can countries break free of the US dollar's grip? Maponga argues gold is the answer.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

3 and 6 for Matt please

3) Who depends on them. & something they lost, but would love to have back

These days? No one lol. Every once in a blue moon, Alfred needs his emotional support canuck or some backup or another pair of hands or a second pair of eyes. He might smack Matt on the shoulder like, "what would I do with out you, dude?" but that's a shakey premise on a good day. Love doesn't correspond 1:1 with need. Arthur is much more enmeshed with Europe whether he likes it or not. Jack and Zee go into the Pacific whether he likes it or not.

The picture differed greatly between the early Cold War and World War Two. Matt was this incredibly important bridge between two empires. I think we, myself included, sleep on this as a community. But so do even Canadian historians, unless they have a taste for diplomatic history. Just how important Canada was not only to the Americans and the British as two entities but how little would have gotten done in the North Atlantic without the ability to keep shit running, and everyone getting along just gets lost in the more dramatic stories. No one will make a movie like Saving Private Ryan or Dunkirk about boring stuff like food logistics or submarine hunting. Or if they do, the protagonist is going to be an American. British units serving next to Americans all across the European theatre dragged Canadian officers with them to do what essentially became anglo-to-anglo translation. We have this picture from the top down of Churchill and Roosevelt, but on every level below that, Canada is the great facilitator. To the point it causes conflict with India, Australia, South Africa and France. Even the USSR got a bit miffed about the influence of Canada in the early UN. At one point, he was this hinge between the power brokers and held enormous power. It's a lot of emotional intelligence that my autistic ass is kind of shit at writing, but the sheer influence he held for about 20 years is just so intense.

There was also a time when he was absolutely indispensable to his father. Need a war crime committed? The spare is prepared. More than half of the UK's food between 1940 and 1944 was Canadian, including 77% of wheat. By '44, More than 45% of RAF ground crews? Canadian. More than a quarter of the pilots were also Canadian. The entire gold reserve of the British Empire was smuggled to Montreal quietly and competently even most economic historians don't even remember its a thing. If it was asked of him, he did it, and he did it well.

But that was a very long time ago now. And perhaps, as L.P. Hartley put it, the past is another country. And I think Matt of today misses that time. Not the blood and treasure lost, not the strain, and god knows not the empire or even the rest of it, really. But there was that snapshot in time where he spoke and was heard. Before the French decided the Francophone soul of Canada was again politically expedient and did their damndest to tear it out, Matt was in so many ways, a stupidly important power broker. But that was long before he became a negative space where any echo of what Americans are or are not sounds.

[annachum]

Brahmanya Institute of Magic

Located in the Rajasthani Plains, Brahmanya becomes to the top Wizarding school in India, and it is founded in the early Vedic Period ie around 1500s BC.

Brahmanya is built like a colorful Hindu temple with colorful glass pane windows and lovely temple gardens

Brahmanya School Uniforms

Students mainly wear light orange gold robes with dark green shawls. Male students wear sherwani robes as school uniforms, while female students wear Hindu dresses of orange gold with green shawls

Brahmanya Education system

The Brahmanya Education system is mainly grounded in Hinduist magic teachings. The school is also famous for its herbal and Chakra magic curriculums. Students do yoga and warm up exercises at 6.30 am before breakfast. After schooling hours, students get to be under rigorous Hindu magical combat training. And then evenings are used for study and rest

Brahmanya Sorting system

First year Students get to insert their name slips in the magical sorting lotus in the Sorting ceremony. Then the lotus closes and opens again revealing the student's house badge

Brahmanya Diet

Being a more Hinduist school, the Brahmanya Diet is more vegetarian inclined, since there are many vegetarians amongst the students and staff of the school. Meat is only reserved on special occasions, and there will be less meat that veggies even in such occasions

Brahmanya Student demographic

Although it mainly takes in South Asian students, international students are welcome to apply. Brahmanya mainly has South Asian student body and Hindu students in various regions ( notably Southeast Asia )

Some notable alumni

. Parvati and Padma Patil's parents are amongst the alumni of Brahmanya Institute.

Additional notes

. Brahmanya Institute is one of the schools that Fenghuang has some associations with

. It sometimes has rivalries with Hogwarts

. Brahmanya has the largest student population of Hindus across Wizarding schools

[hobiebrownismygod]

Hi!!! This is the-cat-and-the-birdie 😁😁😁

I just wanted to ask - and sorry if this is weird! But I know Maitreyi is Indian as are you, and I know Diwali is coming up soon. I just wanted to know if Maitreyi celebrates Diwali, and if so does she do anything with Hobie?

I just thought Hobie participating in Diwali would be beautiful so I wanted to ask! Anyway, I love your work and think you're an amazing addition to the fandom. Can wait to read anything new you put out 🧡 thanks for all your effort

Because she was taken away from her family when she was young, she never really got to participate in celebrations like Diwali and considering the fact that there aren’t really any other Indian superheroes in her universe, she couldn’t share her culture with them or really go to any events.

I like to think that Pav invited her to his family's Diwali festival for the first time, which his Aunt Maya usually hosts, and he convinced Hobie to come too (he ships them like crazy) so they could both have that experience.

Maitreyi was hesitant at first, cause she wasn’t sure if she’d fit in well but when she found out Hobie was coming, she decided she’d go (cuz she’s a simp)

Pavi took her took her to get a red saree (for valor) to wear and got her measured and everything. She acted like she wasn’t interested in it but she was actually really excited to wear one.

Hobie wore a gold kurta (for prosperity) cause Pav forced him to, while Pav himself wore a lighter yellow color (happiness) Gayatri wore a simpler pink lehenga (love) and the two of them matched pretty well. But he was only able to see Gayatri for a while before she had to leave to celebrate with her family and because Inspector Singh doesn’t like Pav :(

Maitreyi's saree on the top left, Hobie's kurta on the top right, Gayatri's lehenga on the bottom left and Pavitr's kurta on the bottom right! Disclaimer: I'm not saying this is what they look like, I'm just saying this is what the clothes would look like.

Side Note: Hobie would look so freaking good in a kurta like do you guys see my vision? Can someone draw him in a kurta I'm literally begging 😭. This tall ass mf would pull it off so well!!

When he saw Maitreyi in her saree for the first time, Hobie was a tiny bit awestruck, cause he doesn't see her in much other than her suit and streetwear and even then, she's very reserved and quiet around him. He kind of let out a soft "you look beautiful" when he saw her and she got so nervous she was barely able to respond. He was just trying to be nice cause he genuinely thought she looked really pretty, but she probably felt like she was going to explode. She was able to croak out a simple thank you but acted like an idiot (all sappy and dorky) around him for the rest of the festival. (She's so silly I'm totally not projecting)

While Maitreyi and Pav did rangoli in front of his house, Hobie was busy lighting all the lamps and candles and getting out the firecrackers. Pav had a lot of family over but none of them minded Maitreyi and Hobie being there, despite being a little confused by Hobie’s presence. What was a British punk doing in India?? Lmao

During the actual celebration, Hobie went kind of crazy over the firecrackers. Controlled explosions? The perfect combination of chaos and command tbh. He lit up more than half of the supply and at some point Pav had to ask him to leave some for the rest of his cousins to play with. But even then, Hobie stayed with those cousins and helped them light the firecrackers too cause a lot of them were young and scared (he’s so good with kids 😭). Like I could imagine him seeing a little kid who was holding a little matchstick in his hand and slowly trying to approach a firecracker and being like "hey mate, y'want some help? S'not scary at all, promise, lemme give you a hand" in his deep voice.

Maitreyi loved the Diwali sparklers, the ones that looked like incense sticks but when lit would burn and crackle. She would wave them around and create these beautiful patterns of smoke in the air, gracefully twirling the incense stick to draw these complicated designs that only lasted a part of a second. Hobie and the rest of the little kids would watch her in awe, excitedly asking her to draw different patterns to which she gladly obliged. Hobie was acting more like an excited kid than the rest, asking her to write his name with the smoke and more (Let the traumatized man release his inner child!) She found it cute.

When he decided to give it a try, she held his hand and helped him calmly (even though she was basically screaming with happiness on this inside), gently moving his hand in different directions and helping him create the same patterns. He's a bit clumsy, and his hands are fairly shaky so she'd kind of hold his hand firmly so the lines he drew into the air would be straight and so his movements would be a little more fluid. What she didn't realize was that he was staring at her with a smile the whole time while she was focused on the sparks. (I'm getting butterflies just writing this omg 😭)

This is what the Diwali sparklers look like in action!! When you move them around, the light stays behind for just a split second and makes it look like you're drawing. People usually wave them in circles or in zig zag lines for fun, but you can also make really quick shapes like squares if you're fast enough. You can even write out the letters of your name!

Overall they all really enjoyed the celebration and Maitreyi made Pav promise to invite her again next year!!

thank you so much for this ask, I had a lot of fun writing it and I love the way it turned out even if I went a little overboard with the details 😭! @the-cat-and-the-birdie

Btw I love your spider-Sona, Diane, I read all your posts about her and Hobie and they’re literally the cutest. Maitreyi would definitely think Diane was the coolest and feel so safe around her because of what a strong, badass woman she is 😭

[cherienymphe]

Do you know a good vendor to buy gold jewelry from on Etsy? It’s hard to ensure I’m not getting scammed these days

[priyashareindia9]

Indians are obsessed with gold! Be it any festival ranging from Raksha Bandhan to Diwali, a considerable population of Indians never miss an opportunity to buy gold.

Indians purchase almost 700–800 tonnes annually, and this craze seems to be never-ending.

As we all know, very little gold is produced in India, and most of it is imported. On the one hand, where we are focusing more on exporting in order to increase our Foreign Exchange Reserve, importing gold is causing pain to the government policy. This resulted in the introduction of Sovereign Gold Bonds in 2015, an alternative to traditional physical gold (also check out our previous post on different forms of gold investment in India).

[dwollfieldnotes]

Indian Unicorn

Indica by Ctesias (5th Century BC)

In India there are wild asses, larger than horses, with a single horn on their forehead

The body is white, the head is dark red, the eyes bluish, the horn is white at the base, black, and then flaming red at the tip

Cups made from their horns protect the drinker from convulsions, epilepsy, and all poisons

Have huckle-bones/ankle-bones resembling an ox and a gall-bladder

These ankle-bones are heavy like lead and colored like cinnabar

Stronger and swifter than any other quadruped

Unable to be captured alive

Protect their colts by surrounding them while the graze, like musk-oxen

Flesh is too bitter, they are hunted for their horns and huckle-bones

Natural History by Pliny the Elder (77)

Lives in India

Cannot be taken alive by any hunter

Head of a stag, feet of an elephant, tail of a boar, the rest resembles a regular horse/ass

Makes a deep, low rumbling noise

Has a single black horn, two cubits in length, projecting from the middle of its forehead

Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus (170 – 245)

They dwell near the marshes of the Indian River Hyrdoates

Wild asses with horns on their foreheads

Can be used to butt like bulls and make a sport of battling any beast that tries them

If a cup is made of this horn it will have many properties

Anyone who drinks from the cup cannot be made sick on the same day he drank from it [all of these properties last one day, and one must drink from it every day for the properties to carry over]

He is immune to poison

He can pass through fire unharmed

He will be no worse for being wounded

These goblets are reserved for kings, and only they are allowed to hunt unicorns

Apollonius said he once encountered a unicorn and met an immortal king in India, who drank from the cup every day, and he could not blame him for his intoxication

On Animals by Aelian (2nd century)

Cites Ctesias

India is home to one-horned horses and asses

If drinking vessels are made from their horns, any poison put within them is rendered harmless

They are asses as large as horses

All white, with a head approaching purple, and dark blue eyes

Horn is on the forehead a cubit and a half long; lower part is white, middle part is jet black, and upper part is crimson

Rich Indians make drinking-horns from these, decorating them with gold rings

Anyone who drinks from these will be protected from epilepsy and incurable diseases. If he had ingested poison previously, he'll vomit it up and be fine

Have knuckle-bones, jet black, unseen in animals with uncloven hooves [odd-toed ungulates/horses]

Faster than any deer or horse

The asses live in herds of dams and their colts, led by a single sire guarding them

Inhabit the most desolate plains of India

When fighting hunters, their horns are able to shatter any weapon set against them. Their horns have been used to disembowel horses and kill men. They kick fiercely and their bites tear at flesh

Cannot be caught alive

Their meat is inedible, far too bitter

[mariacallous]

Russia isn’t fighting Ukraine alone. Alongside its soldiers are African conscripts, supported by Iranian drones and partly funded by stolen gold and diamonds. They may soon be joined by “lethal support” from China, according to U.S. officials.

For these vital contributions, Russian President Vladimir Putin can thank his fellow autocrats. And he’s returning the favor: Despite the invasion’s heavy toll on Russia, he still sends resources to other embattled dictators. Autocrats, like democrats, are finding that war offers them new opportunities to cooperate. And dictators’ inherent interest in staying in power means that their collaboration will continue regardless of whether Ukraine prevails.

These networks weren’t created overnight but reflect prolonged efforts by Russia, China, and likeminded regimes to make the world safe for autocracy—particularly following the Western response to Putin’s first Ukraine invasion in 2014. Their activities include neutering international civil society, spreading disinformation, and exporting surveillance technology. Today’s war in Ukraine illustrates the power of these networks—coalitions not of the willing but the wanton—to not only sustain authoritarianism where it already exists, but to export it by force.

These networks have impeded Western attempts to isolate the Kremlin and starve its war machine. Within days of the invasion, Western diplomats made Russia the most sanctioned country in the world. At first, these penalties appeared to be working: They erased Russia’s post-Soviet development gains, and more than a thousand international companies left the country. But Russia built new ties. For instance, as oil exports to the West fell in 2022, purchases from China and India—countries that did not condemn the invasion—made up the difference, contributing to Russia’s record $227 billion trade surplus. Russia used these funds to pay for the war and blunt its economic consequences for ordinary Russians. On the diplomatic front, Russia has been heavily courting African nations.

Belarus’s Aleksandr Lukashenko has aided Putin the most, hosting Russia’s troops and allowing missile launches from Belarusian territory, but these authoritarian networks stretch much farther than neighboring countries. Take, for example, Sudan. When sanctions sent the value of Russian rubles plunging to record lows, the Kremlin turned to its gold reserves to prop it up. In order to fill those reserves—which had tripled in size since Russia’s 2014 invasion—the Russians have been colluding with Sudan’s military dictatorship to smuggle billions of dollars’ worth of gold out of the country. One shipment, hidden under boxes of cookies, was scheduled to depart Khartoum just days after the invasion.

Russia’s Sudanese gold-mining front is called Meroe Gold. It began operations in 2017, weeks after the country’s then-dictator, Omar al-Bashir, asked Putin for help staying in power. Russia dispatched advisors from the Wagner Group, the ruthless Kremlin-linked mercenary group fighting in Ukraine and around the world. Wagner’s advice lived up to its reputation: During Sudan’s 2018 protests, its personnel told al-Bashir to execute individual demonstrators to set an example. After pro-democracy protests ousted al-Bashir in 2019, Wagner cozied up to Sudan’s military, which toppled the country’s nascent democratic government in 2021. In return, Wagner was given free rein of the mining industry. It has eliminated the competition by massacring dozens of miners near Sudan’s border with the Central African Republic (CAR).

The Central African story is depressingly similar to Sudan’s. Besieged by rebels, in 2018 the country’s president appealed to the Kremlin for arms and to Wagner to train his troops. Unlike in Sudan, in 2020 Wagner began to fight the insurgents directly. As payment, the government ceded control of the diamond industry. Wagner forces artisanal miners to sell only to its shell company, Diamville, through intimidation and violence. The blood diamonds are then smuggled out of the country and sold unofficially on Facebook and Instagram and officially through dealers in the West in order to fund Wagner’s operations.

In addition to money, Wagner—facing heavy losses in Ukraine—is drawing manpower from the CAR and its neighbors. It has recruited imprisoned murderers, rapists, and even rebels convicted of killing CAR soldiers (Wagner’s ostensible allies), promising freedom and cash to anyone willing to fight in Ukraine. In March 2022, Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar agreed to send mercenaries to fight for Russia, and Syrians are reportedly joining them.

While deployed in Africa, Wagner personnel have behaved with impunity: pillaging, raping, and trafficking women. Nevertheless, when asked, many Central Africans back Moscow or credit Wagner for bringing peace. Sixteen African nations, including the CAR and Sudan, abstained or voted against the February 2023 United Nations resolution calling on Russia to exit Ukraine. This is a testament not only to public opinion (or indifference) about Ukraine’s plight, but also to the appeal of what the Kremlin offers Africa’s autocrats. Leaders of poor but resource-rich countries are effectively giving Wagner bits of their sovereignty—and ignoring any resulting human rights violations—as payment for keeping them in power. And more are interested: Ghana’s president alleged that Burkina Faso’s leadership requested Wagner’s help, offering a mine in return.

Not every case of support for Russia’s war machine is so brazen or features a private military-mafia straight from a James Bond movie. Take the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its willingness to look past shady financial transactions has allowed billions of dollars to flow to the Kremlin, as much of Sudan’s gold and the CAR’s diamonds are sold illicitly there. The UAE also bills itself as a haven for sanctioned Russian oligarchs, making it easy for them to come, buy Emirati citizenship, and park their yachts, planes, and ill-gotten gains. Turkey has become an entrepôt for European businesses seeking to continue trading with Russia. Chinese defense companies are supplying the Kremlin with crucial navigation, radio-jamming, and fighter jet components.

Armaments are also a growing part of Russia’s dealings with Iran, another embattled, sanctioned autocracy. Iranian drones have played a “central role” in attacks on Ukrainian civilians. And more are coming: The two countries are planning to build a factory in Russia to produce at least 6,000 of them. Iran, for its part, should receive around 24 Russian fighter jets by March. It also turned to Russia for counsel on defusing the protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death, so the Kremlin reportedly dispatched advisors. These actions are leading Moscow and Tehran toward a “full-fledged defense partnership.”

Not all autocrats are moving toward Putin. In principle, Venezuela’s regime consistently supports Russian imperialism: It took Russia’s side against Georgia in 2008, recognized Crimea as Russian, and blamed the West for the Ukraine invasion. And Putin helped Venezuela’s dictator to sell oil as democracies recognized the opposition government-in-exile and imposed crushing sanctions. But now, in practice, relations between Venezuela and the West are normalizing: Maduro wants to sell oil, and the West wants to stop buying it from Russia.

Venezuela shows that these coalitions of the wanton are as easy to make as they are to break, for they are held together only by self-interest. Nevertheless, these ties are bound to proliferate as autocrats turn to each other amid crisis. The Kremlin in particular views these networks as fundamental to maintaining power at home and waging a perceived existential struggle against the West. In other words, autocrats already see their struggles against democracy—whether in Iran, Sudan, or Ukraine—as interconnected and act accordingly. Democracies must learn to do the same.