In terms of the United States’ sanctions policy toward Russia, the effect on Russian aviation production and the country’s domestic airlines is an important and often overlooked story. On one hand, US sanctions threaten to hurt Russian airlines, forcing them to use fewer Western-made aircraft.... MORE

Russia is well-known for having connections to the political far right in Europe, but its links to the European far left are just as firmly established. This was affirmed once again by invitations made to Italy’s Stefano Valdegamberi (affiliated with the far-right Lega Nord) and... MORE

After much debate, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev has approved a new Latin-based alphabet for the titular language of his country. The new alphabet will not include apostrophes as did the Latin script he approved earlier. The adoption of the new alphabet will have three significant... MORE

On Sunday, January 28, demonstrations and protests organized by Alexei Navalny shook Russia once again, this time calling for what he has called “Voters’ strike” protests. While Navalny’s website claims these protests took place in 118 cities across Russia (Navalny.com, January 28), the authorities counted... MORE

Moscow’s ability to run the country depends on keeping the non-Russians apart and at odds with each other. This gives the center the ability to play one group off against another as well as prevents the non-Russians from forming a common front against ethnic Russians.... MORE

Following an inspection by the Ministry of Justice, the Russian truckers organization Association of Russian Carriers (Obedinenie Perevozchikov Rossii—OPR) has been declared a “foreign agent.” The organization was originally formed to protest the introduction of the Platon toll system in 2015 (see EDM, November 30,... MORE

In the heat of the spring and summer of 2014, a full-scale Russian invasion to create a land bridge to recently annexed Crimea appeared overwhelmingly likely. Such a move by Russia never materialized, though fears of its imminent possibility continued to crop up as violence... MORE

The Russian Ministry of Defense published a legislative proposal, on October 4, that introduces a number of critical changes to the law “On the status of military personnel” (RBC, October 4). The bill is supposed to become law in early 2018. The most crucial part... MORE

In Russian Karelia, there had been no election for the office of head of the republic since 2002. This year (September 10), such an election was finally held; and on September 25, Arthur Parfenchikov was officially inaugurated to the position. He had been serving as... MORE

Kyrgyzstan has had a Russian military base on its territory since handing over the Kant airfield to Moscow in 2003. And now it wants a second one. The Kyrgyz Republic’s president, Almazbek Atambayev, says that he would not be disturbed by having one and has even... MORE