Russian Navy Suffers Another Blow as Aircraft Carrier Is Damaged While Undergoing Repairs
Xi’s Grip Loosens Amid Trade War Policy Paralysis
Egypt Declares its Success in Dismantling Islamist Militancy
Elections Staged in Ukraine’s East Under Russian Control
Kremlin-orchestrated, internationally unrecognized “elections” were held on November 11 in the Donetsk and Luhansk “People’s Republics” (DPR, LPR), Russian-controlled territories in Ukraine’s east. The final returns, made public on November 14, serve to confirm and... MORE
Russian Nationalist Group, Acting as a Private Military Company, Worries Kremlin
Private military companies (PMC), which the Kremlin has used with success in Ukraine, Syria, the Central African Republic and elsewhere, nonetheless constitute a potentially serious problem domestically for Russia. If they pursue their own goals,... MORE
Growing Frustration in Moscow at Trump’s Inability to Deliver US-Russia Rapprochement
Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had a brief encounter in Paris (a handshake and a short collective chat during lunch with other world leaders) on November 11, 2018, during the commemoration of the 100th... MORE
Nord Stream Two Makes New Headway, as Pressure Mounts to Block the Pipeline
Nearly a hundred members of the European Parliament (MEP) sent an open letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on November 7, imploring her to halt the construction of the Nord Stream Two natural gas pipeline.... MORE
Romania Undertakes Naval Modernization Program (Part One)
The Romanian Defense Ministry will announce, on November 15, the winner of a tender to acquire four multirole corvettes to equip Romania’s Naval Forces (Adevărul, October 26). This announcement will mark the official beginning of... MORE
Tragedy in Arkhangelsk Highlights Youth Radicalization, Holes in Russian Information Security Architecture
The deadly October 31 bombing of a local Federal Security Services (FSB) office in Arkhangelsk by 17-year-old student Mikhail Zhlobitsky, a member of an online anarchist community (Meduza.io, October 31; Crimerussia.com, November 1), underscored two... MORE
Georgia’s Hyper-Competitive Presidential Election: Prelude to Political Turmoil?
The second round of presidential elections in Georgia is scheduled to take place in a few weeks. The first round of voting, on October 28, did not reveal an outright winner. The candidate from the... MORE
Russia’s Peace Conference on Afghanistan: What Does It Mean?
Last week (November 9), Russia finally convened its long-heralded peace conference on Afghanistan. Attending the conference were members of the Taliban as well as the governments of Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and China.... MORE
Moscow Laying Groundwork for Deeper Military Involvement in Libya
Moscow is deepening its military involvement in Libya while denying to its own people and the world that it is doing so, thus repeating the pattern that the Kremlin has followed in Syria and the... MORE