Its program areas explore Russian domestic politics, the Russia-West relationship, and Russia's relations with major global powers (such as China) and within international organizations (such as the BRICS and the G20).

The resulting report was co-authored by Mark Medish, former Russia director at the National Security Council and president of Guggenheim International [12] and Daniel Lucich, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

In March 2015 CGI published a report assessing Vladimir Putin's third term as president of Russia[16] co-authored by three prominent experts: Richard Sakwa, Mark Galeotti and Harley Balzer of Georgetown University.

Writing separately on the topics of politics, economics, and security, the authors concluded that Russia had entered a stage of "developed Putinism" in which the domestic system was solidified enough to sustain short-term crises but risked falling into long-term stagnation.

In advance of the July 2016 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Warsaw, CGI published a report assessing the capabilities of the Russian military and its potential threat to Western countries.

[31] CGI also worked with the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington to host Mark Feygin, the Russian defense attorney who represented Pussy Riot and Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko.