By Paul GobleNew violence between Baku and Yerevan over the occupied territories (see EDM, August 7) has sparked a new wave of separatism among the Lezgins of Azerbaijan. This ethnic community calculates that the violence gives it a new chance to gain autonomy via Moscow’s... MORE

By Sofia YasenThe Russian publishing house Knizhnyy Mir recently released a book about Igor Girkin (a.k.a. Strelkov), the military leader of the pro-Russia separatist forces in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (kmbook.ru, accessed August 4). The title of the book isIgor Strelkov—The Horror of the... MORE

By Paul GobleOne of the most odious features of Soviet times is now making a horrific comeback in Russian-occupied Crimea—“snitching” or denouncing others to the authorities in the hopes of currying favor with the latter or of gaining specific benefits such as the apartment of... MORE

By Richard ArnoldWhile the latest events in eastern Ukraine—in particular, the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 by pro-Russia separatist forces—may have proven a step too far even for Vladimir Putin, for many in Moscow the problem lies not with the Kremlin’s activity in the... MORE

By Paul GobleDespite having been independent for more than 20 years, the countries of Central Asia still have not agreed on precisely where their borders are. At present, disputes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, on the one hand, and between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, on the other,... MORE

By Paul GobleVladimir Putin’s push for the federalization of Ukraine is now echoing in Russian regions, nowhere more powerfully than in the exclave of Kaliningrad, where support for independence has declined in recent years from 7 percent to 4 percent. But, at the same time,... MORE

By Richard Arnold  In the Moscow region town of Puskhino, on Thursday, May 15, football fans and other hooligans held another skhod(people’s gathering) which resulted in the arrests of 40 people. The skhod drew around 500 people out into the streets to march in protest to... MORE

By Richard ArnoldRussia’s international isolation progressed even further on May 15, when Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced that Russia would be blocking the signal of the American Global Positioning Satellite system on its territory. From June 1, the “work of American stations transmitting the... MORE

By Paul GobleThe Russian Procuracy has told the Federation Council (upper chamber of parliament) that “the greatest threat to security and stability in the North Caucasus region comes from organized criminal formations of a religious-extremist direction, which have formed diversionary groups” (interfax-religion.ru/islam/?act=news&div=55156).Moscow officials clearly intend... MORE

By Paul GobleOne of the constant themes of Soviet propaganda was that the peoples who were deported at the end of World War II deserved it because they had collaborated with Nazi Germany during that conflict. With the passage of laws and the issuing of... MORE