Pavel Felgenhauer

Dr. Pavel E. Felgenhauer is a Moscow-based defense analyst and columnist for Novaya Gazeta. He served as senior research officer in the Soviet Academy of Sciences, from where he received his Ph.D. Dr. Felgenhauer has published widely on Russian foreign and defense policies, military doctrine, arms trade and the military-industrial complex. He comments regularly in local and international media on Russia’s defense-related problems.

Contact Pavel Felgenhauer

    Articles by Pavel Felgenhauer

    Russia Never as Strong as It Looks

    In the early hours of February 24, President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine, and tens of thousands of Russian soldiers and tanks poured into Ukraine, preceded

    Russian Troops Deploy to Belarus With Fanfare

    Tensions have been flying high between Moscow and the West for months, with little prospect currently of imminent de-escalation. Stress is also mounting between Russia and Ukraine, as Russian military

    Is a Russo-US De-Escalation Feasible?

    The stakes were high when Presidents Joseph Biden of the United States and Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation held a two-hour, bilateral video-conference on December 7 (see EDM, December

    Putin’s Ultimatum to America

    In the past several weeks, relations between Moscow and Washington nosedived, with multiple overlapping potential crises and increasingly toxic rhetoric aggravating an already dangerous situation. The Ukrainian crisis has been

    Russia Brashly Demonstrates Its Anti-Satellite Capabilities

    On November 15, the Russian military successfully tested a dual-use missile-defense/anti-satellite interceptor to destroy in orbit an old, dysfunctional Tselina-D intelligence-gathering satellite dubbed “Kosmos-1408.” The “dead” target satellite was flying

    Belarus as Latest Front in Acute East-West Standoff

    A new point of acute East-West tension has emerged on the Polish-Belarusian border. Minsk and the West have been at loggerheads since August 2020, when Belarus’s strongman, Alyaksandr Lukashenka (ruling

    Moscow Severs Diplomatic Relations With NATO

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia have effectively severed their diplomatic relations, which were established some 20 years ago, when both sides declared their Cold War rivalry was

    A War and Peace Visit to Moscow

    US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland spent two days in Moscow meeting with top foreign policy officials at a pivotal moment in bilateral relations when peace

    Massive Zapad 2021 War Games Begin

    The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has begun massive Zapad 2021 operational-strategic war games together with its smallish ally Belarus. The quadrennial Zapad (“West”) exercises are designed to test the

    The Thorny Road to the Kremlin’s Desired Yalta-2021

    Russian top officials—in particular, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (RIA Novosti, April 27) and Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev (Kommersant, April 8)—have for weeks been talking about the deepening crisis in

    Tensions Escalate in Donbas and on Ukrainian Border

    Increasingly deadly skirmishes between Moscow-backed “separatist” forces and the Ukrainian military in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas have claimed the lives of dozens of combatants and civilians since January

    Russia Escalates Its Proxy War in Eastern Ukraine

    The ceasefire on the line of control in the breakaway Donbas region of eastern Ukraine is unraveling. In July 2020, both sides—the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) and the Moscow-backed “separatists”—agreed

    Kremlin Pleased With Swift Extension of New START

    United States President Joseph Biden jolted the political-military leadership in Moscow with his eleventh-hour prolongation of the New START strategic nuclear arms control treaty that was scheduled to expire on

    Putin Exercises Free Hand in South Caucasus

    Over the past several weeks, the United States has been preoccupied with the ongoing transition of power in the White House, a riot in the Capitol and a second impeachment

    Disarray in Washington Catches Moscow off Guard

    While a group of right-wing Donald Trump supporters caused havoc in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, Moscow officials were celebrating Orthodox Christmas Eve. President Vladimir Putin and his cohorts

    Russia to Build Naval Base in Sudan

    President Vladimir Putin issued a decree authorizing Russia’s Ministry of Defense to sign an agreement with Sudan to create a permanent Russian military base, or “naval supply station” (punkt materialno-tekhnicheskogo

    The Karabakh War Ends as Russian Troops Move In

    The second Karabakh war, which began on September 27, 2020, ended this week, with Armenia soundly defeated and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan forced to accept the ceasefire demands made

    Moscow Presents US as Sinking Into Chaos

    Four years ago, in November 2016, Donald Trump’s victory in the United States presidential election was celebrated in Moscow. The news of Hillary Clinton conceding was greeted with spontaneous applause

    Russian Wagner Mercenaries Arrested in Belarus

    On July 29, the Belarusian KGB and OMON special police forces arrested 32 Russians residing at a countryside resort, Belorusochka, just outside of Minsk. The Belarusian authorities have accused the

    Russia Tests Combat Readiness Despite Pandemic

    On July 17, Russia began massive “snap combat readiness” exercises of troops from the Western and Southern military districts, the Airborne Forces (Vozdushno-Desantnye Voyska—VDV) and marines of the North and

    Moscow Clarifies Its Nuclear Deterrence Policy

    President Vladimir Putin issued a decree (ukaz) that signed into law a new strategic document: “The Foundations of Russian Federation State Policy on Nuclear Deterrence (“Osnovi Gosudarstvennoy Politiki Rossyskoy Federatsii

    Russia and Turkey Drift Toward War

    Russian officials and the pro-Kremlin press have been praising the successful offensive against Idlib by troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The northwestern Syrian province is the last stronghold

    Moscow’s Rift With Minsk Reaches Critical Point

    Belarus is officially Russia’s closest ally. In addition to joint membership in the Moscow-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, a regional defense alliance) and Eurasian Economic Union, Belarus and Russia

    Putin’s Intricate Syrian Balancing Act

    For several years, the United States has fought the Islamic State in Syria without large troop deployments or any significant casualties by maintaining a close alliance with the Syrian Democratic

    Moscow Thinks West Is Ready to Abandon Kyiv

    The Ukrainian crisis has been at the center of Russia’s confrontation with the West since February 2014, when a popular revolution, seen in Moscow as a Western-sponsored coup, ousted the

    Moscow Sees Saudi Drone Attack as an Opportunity

    In an official statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the September 14 multiple unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and cruise missile attacks on Saudi Arabia’s main Abaqaiq oil processing

    Putin and Lavrov Rebuff Pompeo’s Overtures in Sochi

    On May 3, United States President Donald Trump phoned Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and had “a long and very good conversation” discussing “trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control

    Moscow Sees Threats Multiplying Everywhere

    At the February 27 meeting of Russia’s top military chiefs (the Defense Ministry Collegium), the minister of defense, Army General Sergei Shoigu, described mounting external military threats in an unstable

    Russia Prepares to Make the Best of Scrapped INF Treaty

    The United States’ National Security Advisor John Bolton arrived in Moscow on October 22, shortly after President Donald Trump announced Washington would withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)

    Russian Ties With Israel Under Strain

    Several Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) F-16 jets bombed and destroyed an industrial warehouse in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, on September 17. According to Israeli sources, the warehouse contained

    Russian Navy Preparing to Take on US

    Russian President Vladimir Putin loves the navy. Growing up in St. Petersburg—the old imperial capital built by Tsar Peter the Great as the center of Russian naval power—Putin may have

    Russia, Israel and Iran Strike a Deal in Syria

    Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman visited Moscow, on May 31, for talks with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian top brass. Lieberman was accompanied by several of his country’s

    The New ‘Cold War’ With the West Heats Up

    Sergei Skripal (66), a former Russian military intelligence (GRU) colonel, was arrested in Moscow in 2004 for allegedly being an agent of the United Kingdom’s MI6 intelligence service. Skripal was

    Russia Seeks Total Military Domination Over West

    During his annual address to the parliament, on March 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled an array of nuclear superweapons, claiming Russia has secretly overcome the mighty United States and

    Russia’s New (Old) Heavy Army

    After decades of reforms and transformations, and all the hype about hybrid warfare, it seems the Russian military is increasingly falling back on the good old tank-heavy model of the

    Russian Military Spreads Fake Intelligence

    This week (November 14), the Russian Ministry of Defense posted on its official social media accounts a report about the Washington-led coalition and the United States military in northeastern Syria

    Strategic War Game Zapad 2017 Has Begun

    Last November, in Minsk, at a session of the joint Russian-Belarusian “defense collegium,” Russia’s minister of defense, Army-General Sergei Shoigu, declared the upcoming strategic war game, Zapad 2017, to be

    Moscow Considers Trump Too Weak to Be Useful

    The US House of Representatives has with an overwhelming majority passed a bill reinforcing sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea, and the Senate seems ready to approve the bill

    The Russian-Ukrainian Conflict Could Be Escalating

    This week (July 18), Alexander Zakharchenko, the Russia-backed leader of the self-proclaimed and Moscow-supported “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DPR), declared that a new state—“Malorossia” or “Little Russia”—must be created to replace

    Moscow Preparing for ‘Asymmetrical’ Arms Race

    United States President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress this week (February 28) did not mention the true elephant in the room—his administration’s plans regarding future US

    Putin Orders Air Force Into Topmost Battle Readiness

    President Vladimir Putin ordered a snap military exercise of the Russian Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskye Sily—VKS), on February 7. The VKS was placed at top battle readiness: the missile- and anti-aircraft-defense

    Moscow Maneuvering to Become Supreme Arbiter in Syria

    Last month (December 2016), the eastern half of Syria’s prewar most-populated city, Aleppo, held by opposition fighters since 2012, fell under a relentless assault from joint Iranian, Russian and pro-government

    Russia and the West Engage in Mutual Deterrence

    After the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) summit in Warsaw last week (July 8–9), the NATO-Russian Council met in Brussels, on July 13, at the ambassadorial level. The meeting did

    Russian Strategic Goals in Syria Contradict US Policies

    Last week, Russia’s defense minister, Army-General Sergei Shoigu inspected Russian troops fighting in Syria "under orders of President Vladimir Putin." On June 18, Shoigu visited the Russian operational command center

    Russia Hits Syria With More Long-Range Missiles

    The Kremlin posted footage of a late-evening meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, on December 8. Shoigu was filmed producing a flight recorder, or so-called “black

    Russia and Turkey on War Footing

    The Russian state-run propaganda machine is currently fanning anti-Turkish vitriol full-time. Economic ties between Russia and Turkey are being effectively severed, while military forces have been put on high alert.

    Russian Jets Bomb Syria

    On September 30, the upper house of the Russia’s parliament—the Federation Council—unanimously rubberstamped a Kremlin request to use Russian troops abroad after a 15-minute closed session. President Vladimir Putin’s administration

    Putin Strains Wobbly Western Unity on Syria

    President Vladimir Putin is heading to New York to address the United Nations with a strong hand, while his United States counterpart, Barack Obama, seems weak and indecisive. According to

    Putin Tests His Future New York Speech in Dushanbe

    Speaking this week (September 15) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, at a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)—the Russian-dominated regional defense alliance—President Vladimir Putin detailed his understanding of regional and

    Moscow Ups the Stakes in the Syrian Conflict

    Reports of the alleged troop buildup in Syria of a “Russian expeditionary force” to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, first appeared last month (August) in Israeli and Ukrainian online publications.

    Autumn Pause Follows Donbas August Fighting

    Fighting has dramatically subsided in eastern Ukraine by September 1. A couple of weeks ago, in mid-August, the situation was different and the guns were blazing. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei

    August in Donbas: Will the War Spread?

    The speaker of the Duma (Russian lower house of parliament), Sergei Naryshkin, published an article in the government daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta this week (August 9), making dark predictions about August

    Russia Vetoes UN Draft Resolution on MH17 Tribunal

    Moscow vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution that would have set up an international tribunal to investigate and prosecute those involved in the downing passenger airliner of

    Putin’s Diplomatic Offensive Fails in Tokyo

    As Russo-Western relations go from bad to worse, the Kremlin has been developing strategic ties with Asia. In a recent three-part policy manifesto, President Vladimir Putin’s adviser Sergei Glazyev declared

    The Kremlin’s Game of Threats

    Last week (March 19), speaking at an annual conference of the Union of Russian Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP)—Russia’s main business lobbying group—President Vladimir Putin promoted a previously announced financial amnesty.

    The Debacle in Debaltseve

    The ceasefire agreement signed in Minsk last week (February 12) did not stop the fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine (Donbas encompasses the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces). The

    Another Ceasefire Agreement Signed in Minsk

    A marathon summit in Minsk of the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France—which lasted for more than 15 hours nonstop, from the evening of February 11 to late morning

    With Talks Fruitless, Fighting in Ukraine Intensifies

    The falling ruble, two-digit inflation and obvious signs of a pending financial and economic meltdown apparently have not influenced Russia’s assertive foreign and defense policies. A proposed summit in Astana

    Russia Preparing for Global Resource War

    In an interview aired by state TV channel Rossiya last weekend, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spelled out the three main military threats Russia is facing: international Islamist terrorism, the withdrawal

    Shoigu Agrees to Maintain a Videolink to the Pentagon

    This week, officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were anticipating Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s first appearance at a NATO-Russia Council (NRC) defense ministerial. The NRC had not

    Moscow Elated with a Diplomatic Scoop on Syria

    Moscow was elated by the success of an unexpected diplomatic initiative this week on Syria that has postponed indefinitely a seemingly inevitable military assault by the United States. The strike

    EDM analysts cited in Eurasia Review article

    Jamestown analysts Roger McDermott, Vladimir Socor, Pavel Felgenhauer, Georgiy Voloshin, Richard Weitz, and Dumitru Minzarari were cited in an article by Ariel Cohen in Eurasia Review.

    The West Attempts to Shift Russia on Syria

    During weekend talks in Geneva about Syria, Western diplomats made an effort once again to enlist Moscow’s help in removing President Bashar al-Assad. Western attempts to shift Russia on Syria

    Moscow Sees Military Threats from All Directions

    The outgoing president, Dmitry Medvedev, chaired this week a session of the “expanded Collegium of the Defense Ministry” – a gathering of the nation’s entire top brass. Medvedev and Anatoly

    Russia Rejects WTO-Iran Linkage

    Last week, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, in charge of relations with the US, arms control, ballistic missile defense (BMD) and proliferation, told Jamestown that US-Russian relations are not

    Russia Tires of the Kalashnikov Rifle

    The Russian defense ministry and defense industry have continued to trade insults as they quarrel over how to spend increased budget allocations earmarked to rearm the military with modern weapons.

    Putin Prioritizes Rebuilding the Lost Empire

    This week, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin – the ruling United Russia party’s official candidate for reelection as president for a third six-year term next March – published a major policy

    Russia Begins Tsentr 2011 Military Exercises

    This week Army-General Nikolai Makarov, the Chief of the Russian General Staff told journalists in Moscow that the beginning of the Tsentr 2011 military exercises with Russian and Central Asian

    Russian Arms: Bad Quality and Overpriced

    The Russian defense industry is in crisis; its officials blame the defense ministry for withholding funds, while Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov in turn accuses arms producers of making weapons of

    SCO Fails to Turn Into an “Eastern NATO”

    The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) comprising China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan was officially created on June 15, 2001. At the time the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, while the secular

    Moscow’s BMD Cooperation Demands Do Not Seem Serious

    This week in Brussels, during a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), Russian Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov discussed with his Western counterparts the seemingly intractable problem of Moscow’s opposition to

    Russians Oppose Any Ban on Arms Exports to Syria

    On May 12, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) detained the Israeli military attaché in Moscow, Col. Vadim Leiderman, accused him of spying and expelled him within 48 hours. Leiderman, a

    Biden’s Horse-Trading Mission in Moscow

    US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Moscow has been planned primarily as a promotion of business ties and Western support for President Dmitry Medvedev’s announced modernization efforts. “We see

    Russia Faces Multiple Terrorist Threats

    The Domodedovo airport bombing on January 24, that left 35 dead, including the alleged suicide bomber and more than 100 injured – Russians and foreigners – has overshadowed other important

    Medvedev Confirms Conscript Shortages

    Russia’s attempts to build a modern military have run into a roadblock: there are not enough conscripts to fill the ranks. In the fall of 2008, the Russian military was

    Russia Will Spend 20 Trillion Rubles on New Weapons

    The new First Deputy Defense Minister, Colonel-General Vladimir Popovkin (retired), who is in charge of rearming the Russian military, told journalists at the Farnborough international air show, in the UK,

    Igor Sutyagin’s Imminent Release

    The ten alleged Russian spies arrested in the US by the FBI that had used falsified identities to infiltrate the country embarrassed Moscow and became an irritant in the process

    Russia Struggles to Modernize its Military

    Russia’s attempts to rearm and modernize its military have run out of money as its defense industry is ailing. Last month President, Dmitry Medvedev, announced plans to spend 13 trillion

    Moscow Objects to Patriots in Poland

    Last week US-Russian relations were dominated by the arrival and deployment of US soldiers with Patriot missiles in Poland near the Russian border. The Patriot deployment was agreed between Warsaw

    Sergei Ivanov Seeks Deals in Washington

    The Russian authorities are seeking a major détente with the West. A draft of a revised foreign policy doctrine was leaked and extracts published by Russky Newsweek in Moscow this

    Personnel Problems Impact on Russian Military Reform

    Last week, during a meeting with human rights activists from the committee of soldier’s mothers as well as members of the Kremlin-approved public chamber, Defense Minister, Anatoliy Serdyukov, announced plans

    Moscow Exploits TV Invasion Hoax to Isolate Georgia

    On March 13, the pro-government, Imedi TV broadcasted what appeared to be a documentary report about a new Russian invasion that led to President Mikheil Saakashvili’s assassination. The program caused

    France Fears the Loss of Mistral Sale

    President Dmitry Medvedev’s state visit to Paris was dominated by talks on Iran and Russian aspirations to purchase up to four French Mistral-class advanced amphibious helicopter-carrier warships. French President, Nicolas

    The Bulava SLBM and the US-Russian Arms Talks

    US-Russian nuclear arms reduction negotiators seem close to concluding a follow up strategic arms reduction treaty (START). The Russian press reports that Washington has agreed to serious concessions and that

    Time Running Out to Achieve New Arms Control Treaty

    The Barack Obama administration began nuclear arms control negotiations with Moscow this year, eager for swift progress to help “reset” bilateral relations and achieve progress on more sensitive issues such

    Medvedev Chastises the Russian Defense Industry

    Last month, the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the large-scale military exercises Zapad 2009 held in Russia’s Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad and in Belarus. In Kaliningrad, Medvedev observed a landing

    Tehran on the Brink of Procuring S-300 Missiles

    The Russian-Iranian deal on advanced S-300 long-range anti-aircraft missiles may go ahead despite U.S. and Israeli objections. This week the Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed government source confirming that

    Military Reform Raises the Specter of a Coup

    This week Novaya Gazeta published transcripts of telephone conversations between the commander of the airborne troops (Vozdushno Desantnye Voyska or VDV) two star General Vladimir Shamanov, his son Yuri, VDV

    The Arctic Sea Saga Continues

    The Arctic Sea, a Malta registered ship with a Russian crew, carrying a cargo of timber worth 2 million Euros from Finland to Algeria, was apparently hijacked on July 24

    Obama Praised in Moscow for Moderation

    President Barack Obama's administration wanted to make the Moscow summit a success, and their Russian counterparts, though more skeptical, decided to follow this approach. Positive speeches were made and a

    Risk Increasing of Russian Intervention in Georgia

    The situation in Georgia appears to be deteriorating rapidly. Last month the Georgian opposition parties began street protests in an effort to force President Mikhail Saakashvili to resign. Since April

    Military Reform in Russia Plows Ahead

    It was announced only last week that President Dmitry Medvedev signed an order dismissing four star General Valentin Korabelnikov -the all-powerful chief of military intelligence, the Main Intelligence Directorate or

    Medvedev Tells the West to Keep Out of Georgia

    Russia has reacted angrily to the forthcoming NATO-led Partnership for Peace (PfP) exercises in Georgia. President Dmitry Medvedev called the decision to hold the exercises "shortsighted and not worthy of

    Russia’s Defense Modernization Without a Doctrine

    President Dmitry Medvedev chaired a Security Council meeting this week in the Kremlin, with Russia's de facto ruler, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, present, to consider a specific publicly stated agenda:

    Medvedev Publicly Supports Serdyukov

    Since 2000 the Russian defense budget has grown manifold, as did the country's oil wealth. Last fall a three-year (2009-2011) budget was approved that envisaged hikes in defense spending (see

    Wartime Approaching in the Caucasus

    It is early springtime and in the mountain passes separating Georgia from Russia, there is snowfall one day and wet snow or rain the next. Avalanches and mudslides caused by

    Washington’s Overtures Fail to Impress Moscow

    President Barak Obama's administration has been preparing a set of wide-ranging initiatives to "reset" U.S.-Russian relations. Nuclear arms control talks are planned to resume; NATO officials have told reporters that

    Russia’s Coming War with Georgia

    Six months after the French-brokered agreement ended the Russo-Georgia war on August 12, 2008 the ceasefire continues to be fragile with constant incidents that both sides describe as "provocations." Last

    A Restart of U.S.-Russian Relations

    During a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, criticized the outgoing Bush administration for having downgraded the

    Little Room for Compromise over Missile Defense

    Last minute attempts by the outgoing U.S. administration to reach some understanding with Moscow on outstanding arms-control issues have failed. This week RIA-Novosti quoted “a high-ranking source” in the Defense

    Russia’s Radical Military Reform in Progress

    Russia's Radical Military Reform in Progress Russia's top military commander, First Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of General Staff General Nikolai Makarov told journalists that the Russian army structure was

    A RADICAL MILITARY REFORM PLAN

    After a meeting of Russia's top brass this week, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov disclosed drastic plans to reform and cut the Russian military. The executive decision to begin the reform

    MEDVEDEV’S PLANS FOR MILITARY REARMAMENT

    At the end of August President Dmitry Medvedev announced five foreign policy priorities. The first and third points are benign: Russia will "recognize the fundamental principles of international law" and

    RUSSIA’S GLOBAL WAR GAMES

    This week the Russian armed forces began month-long strategic military exercises called Stability 2008. According to the Defense Ministry, the scenario suggests "a worsening of the situation and an escalation

    WILL MORE MONEY HELP BUY MORE MODERN WEAPONS?

    The 27,000-strong Georgian military is a 40th the size of the Russian military of over one million. Only several thousand solders from each side were directly involved in the war

    FURTHER RUSSIAN MILITARY ACTION IS POSSIBLE

    After the EU summit on September 1 in Brussels, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a press conference, "All of Europe is united" against Moscow's behavior in Georgia. "We can't go

    THE RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN WAR WAS PREPLANNED IN MOSCOW

    Last week military tension in Georgia's separatist region of South Ossetia escalated into all-out war. The Ossetian separatists were provoking a conflict to give the Russian military a pretext for

    RUSSIA IS STRONGER AND MORE AGGRESSIVE

    This week President Dmitry Medvedev addressed a meeting of senior Foreign Ministry officials and ambassadors summoned worldwide to unveil a revised foreign policy concept. President Vladimir Putin signed the previous

    THE WEST IS CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT TO DO IN ABKHAZIA

    Two explosions were reported on the railroad near Sokhumi, the capital of Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia. The explosions happened near the positions of Russian Railroad Troops who are now

    MEDVEDEV’S SOFT-SPOKEN HARD-LINE STATEMENTS

    Before taking office Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was presumed to be a "liberal," who would somehow modify Vladimir Putin's anti-Western rhetoric and authoritarian ways. Medvedev's statements are indeed somewhat more

    MEDVEDEV CONTINUES HARD LINE ON MISSILE DEFENSE

    The main theme of President Dmitry Medvedev’s election campaign was a pledge of “continuity” of the politics of his predecessor Vladimir Putin, who is now the prime minister. The promise

    A GEORGIAN CHARM OFFENSIVE IN MOSCOW

    In an apparent attempt to defuse a tense diplomatic and military conflict with Russia over the breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian government is starting a major

    OLD WEAPONS ON RED SQUARE

    On May 5 a dress rehearsal for the military parade to be held on Red Square on May 9 paralyzed traffic for many hours in central Moscow, as tanks and

    RUSSIA OFFERS GEORGIA A STICK AND A CARROT

    On Sunday, April 20, an unarmed Georgian reconnaissance drone was shot down over the territory Abkhazia. The Georgian authorities alleged that a Russian Air Force MiG-29 fighter had downed the

    POLAND IS CAUGHT BETWEEN MOSCOW AND WASHINGTON

    Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk won the parliamentary elections last November, promising to improve radically relations with Russia, which went sour under the previous administration of the Kacziynski brothers. Lech

    A DECISIVE WEEK IN EAST-WEST RELATIONS

    This week’s NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, which might invite Ukraine and Georgia to join the alliance, is seen in Moscow as a moment of truth that could decide the

    KREMLIN MOUTHPIECE TO LEAVE GENERAL STAFF

    When Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov met their U.S. counterparts, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in Moscow March 17-18, one

    KREMLIN CONTINUES TO BLAST THE WEST OVER KOSOVA

    Mobs, angry over Kosovar independence, burned the U.S. Embassy in the Serbian capital Belgrade last week, promoting a new outburst of anti-Western, anti-U.S. rhetoric in Moscow. The pace was set

    ROGOZIN TAKES UP NEW PORTFOLIO IN BRUSSELS

    This week the outspoken anti-Western nationalist politician Dmitry Rogozin, 44, arrived in Brussels as Russia’s permanent representative to NATO. Rogozin replaces former Border Guard chief General Konstantin Totsky (see EDM,

    PUTIN PRAISES SUCCESSFUL ICBM LAUNCHES

    On December 25, Christmas Day, the Russian military test-fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles – one from land and the other from the sea. The Tula, a Delta-4 nuclear submarine, launched

    MEDVEDEV – A FACELESS FUTURE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has finally designated First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as his preferred successor. Almost immediately, Medvedev announced that he will ask Putin to be his prime

    KREMLIN LANDSLIDE WILL PROMOTE CONFRONTATION

    The December 2 elections to the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, predictably ended in a landslide victory for the ruling United Russia party, headed by President Vladimir Putin.

    CHEMIZOV TO HEAD NEW RUSSIAN ARMS CONGLOMERATE

    This week Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill passed by parliament to create a new state corporation, Rostekhnologii. The corporation will take over the state arms trade

    SAAKASHVILI: DEFIANT AND READY FOR ACTION

    Last Saturday evening, November 3, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili granted me a two-hour interview in his office, which is a few minutes’ walk from parliament. Demonstrators have been protesting in

    MOSCOW MAY DISPATCH FIREBRAND NATIONALIST TO NATO

    The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the outspoken, anti-Western Dmitry Rogozin is about to be appointed to an important diplomatic position, and “This may be the post of permanent

    TWO-PLUS-TWO TALKS IN MOSCOW LEAVE A BIG MINUS

    Last week U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates came to Moscow to discuss Pentagon plans to install ten missile interceptors in Poland, linked to a

    DUSHANBE SUMMITS FOLLOW RUSSIAN AGENDA

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is pleased with the success of the “triple summit” of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and Eurasian

    RUSSIA AND GEORGIA STILL TEETERING ON BRINK OF WAR

    Last week Georgia’s former defense minister, Irakli Okruashvili, accused the country’s pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili of large-scale corruption and conspiring to kill Badri Patarkatsishvili, a prominent businessman. Okruashvili claimed that

    SERDYUKOV’S FAKE RESIGNATION

    Russia’s new prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, announced in Sochi last week that Acting Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov had submitted a letter of resignation to President Vladimir Putin. Zubkov said he

    GENERAL DECLARES RUSSIAN NUKES SECURE

    This month the secretive, nuclear 12th Main Directorate of the Defense Ministry celebrated its 60th birthday. Soviet dictator Josef Stalin created the directorate on September 6, 1947, to supervise nuclear

    MOSCOW BLAMES TERRORISTS FOR TRAIN DERAILMENT

    On Monday, August 13, a high-speed express passenger train traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg derailed in Novgorod region after a remote-controlled landmine exploded under the tracks. Thirteen train cars

    KREMLIN SABER RATTLING INCREASES AHEAD OF SCO SUMMIT

    Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin, while meeting activists and leaders of pro-Kremlin youth movements, used rather bizarre language to describe Russia's standoff with Great Britain over the murder of

    DISTINCT CHILL SETTLES OVER U.S.-RUSSIAN RELATIONS

    At first, it seemed that the "lobster summit" in Maine between U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month had reversed the ever-widening Russo-Western fray.

    MOSCOW RECONSIDERS ABANDONING CFE

    In his annual address to the Russian Federal Assembly on April 26 President Vladimir Putin announced “a moratorium on Russia’s implementation of the CFE treaty until all NATO countries ratify

    THE STRANGE STORY OF MIG-31 JETS FOR SYRIA

    Yesterday, June 19, Moscow's respected business daily Kommersant reported that Russia's arms trading monopoly Rosoboronexport has begun to fulfill an arms deal it secretly signed with Syria earlier this year

    RUSSIA STILL SEES WEST AS PRIMARY ENEMY

    During an extended interview with Western and Russian journalists before this week’s G-8 summit in Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that if U.S. missile defense elements are deployed in

    RECRUITING PROFESSIONAL SERGEANTS RUSSIAN-STYLE

    This week the Russian Ministry of Defense held a conference of sergeants and other serving non-commissioned officers at the base of the elite 27th army brigade, just outside Moscow. Some

    DIPLOMATIC FRENZY AS NEW COLD WAR LOOMS

    This week U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, en route to Moscow, told journalists that Russo-American relations are "not easy," but that the tensions do not amount to a new

    RUSSIA LAUNCHES NEW STRATEGIC SUBMARINE

    The Russian nuclear shipbuilding industry celebrated two successes on Sunday, April 15. At Sevmash -- Russia's largest nuclear submarine-building shipyard -- in Severodvinsk, located north of Moscow on the White

    OPERATION BITE CAPTURES RUSSIAN ATTENTION

    The tentative alliance between Russia and the West on the Iranian nuclear issue that seemed to emerge last month may be fizzling out and replaced by a renewed controversy over

    RUSSIAN MILITARY PREPARE TO COUNTER U.S. THREAT

    Russian leaders have expressed concern over planned U.S. missile defense deployments in Europe. Russian generals have gone further, threatening to abrogate the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and to

    RUSSIA SERIOUS ABOUT INF TREATY ABROGATION

    The Russian military always disliked the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed in 1987 by Presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. The INF eliminated all U.S. and Russian ballistic missiles

    IRAN TAKES DELIVERY OF RUSSIAN TOR-M1 MISSILES

    Yesterday, January 16, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov announced that Russia had completed the delivery of modern Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran. Ivanov insisted that the missiles were "100% defensive

    THE RUSSIAN LOVE AFFAIR WITH PINOCHET

    In Soviet times Chile’s General Augusto Pinochet, who died December 10 at the age of 91, was denounced as a ruthless dictator and a henchman of U.S. imperialists. On September

    THE POLONIUM TRAIL LEADS TO MOSCOW

    Officials investigating the lethal poisoning of former Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Alexander Litvinenko in London have widened their inquiry to Moscow. U.K. Home Secretary John Reid told reporters,

    PUTIN’S MILITARY NUMBERS JUST DON’T ADD UP

    Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin held a well-staged national televised phone-in to answer rehearsed questions from selected citizens. Such phone-ins are performed in Russia once a year and provide