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

Kaliningrad oblast, the non-contiguous part of the Russian Federation that Joseph Stalin formed after annexing much of German East Prussia at the end of World War II, has often been a hotbed of separatism since the end of the Soviet Union. In part, this is... MORE

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense reported, on July 10, on a new batch of military equipment and ammunition purchased from Russia (Mod.gov.az, July 10). The projectiles, rockets and other military equipment are being shipped to Azerbaijan under the bilateral agreement on military-technical cooperation. Initially, Russia... MORE

On Thursday, July 17, at 12:00 p.m., Alexei Navalny, the leader of the opposition to Vladimir Putin and a prospective candidate in the 2018 presidential election, sat down for a debate with Igor Stelkov, the leader of the “Novorossiya” (“New Russia”) social movement and part... MORE