The Russian army’s ongoing struggle to capture Bakhmut might appear to be primarily a tactical episode in the larger geo-strategic picture of Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, it also affects the key political interactions shaping this picture, including the formally cordial, but in fact rather... MORE

Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov’s health has rapidly deteriorated according to multiple media reports. Kadyrov, who has experienced kidney failure due to alleged poisoning, does not trust Russian doctors. Thus, a doctor from Abu Dhabi was invited to treat him. Due to these health issues, the... MORE

In early March 2023, at a meeting in Harbin, Chinese officials committed Beijing to building a railway north from China into the enormous and resource-rich Sakha Republic that dominates the Russian Far East—yet is rather far from the Chinese border (Promvest.info, March 8; Kolyma.ru, March... MORE

Russia’s political and military aims in Ukraine are continuously evolving throughout the course of the ongoing war. Its blitzkrieg in February and March 2022 failed to defeat and subdue Ukraine outright. Moscow accordingly reverted to the strategy and tactics of gradualism. From last March onward,... MORE

Part of Russia’s imperial tactics for delegitimizing national minorities within its empire has been the theft or commandeering of indigenous cultures and their re-articulation into a form that supports Moscow’s power arrangements. This is proving to be the case with the seeming revival of the... MORE

On March 9, Czech president-elect and former North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Chairman Petr Pavel will take office in the Prague Castle. As only the fourth president of the republic, Pavel plays a central role in shaping presidential norms and influencing the political climate of... MORE

The Belarusian political regime headed by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is almost 29 years old, and its endurance should be scrutinized by advanced political scientists. Suffice it to say that it has lived under Western-imposed sanctions since 1996, albeit with intermissions, such as between 2015 and... MORE

In late February 2023, the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads announced that 73 percent of the Horadiz-Jabrayil-Zangilan-Agbend highway has been completed (News.az, February 28). This highway, which runs to Agbend, the westernmost town of mainland Azerbaijan, is planned to link up with the Zangezur... MORE

*Read Part One. As the intense fighting continues between Ukrainian and Russian forces around Bakhmut and Vuhledar, Kyiv continues to take steps to limit elements of Moscow’s influence within Ukraine, including placing restraints on the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). In truth, the ROC has provided... MORE

In February 2023, when President Vladimir Putin referred to the possibility that not only the Russian Federation but also the Russian nation itself could disintegrate, commentators in both Moscow and the West agreed almost unanimously that he was engaged in a propaganda exercise rather than... MORE