BRICS has been making a lot of waves around the world particularly because of the contested relationship South Africa has with Russia, given the current political climate and ICC warrant of arrest for Russian President Vladmir Putin. Not so long ago, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, Reuben E. Brigety II, raised alarms with his LadyRGate allegations. And now it has been said that “BRICS is evolving from [a] China-Russia Dream to [a] Potential U.S. Nightmare”. At present, the debate around whether the 15th BRICS Summit will be hosted in South Africa or not continues to fester as many believe moving the summit to another country, possibly China, will solve the country’s Putin dilemma. On our BRICS Series today, we’re looking into Russia’s role in the formation along with potential outlooks given the recent developments with the Head of the African Governance and Diplomacy Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs, Steven Gruzd.