Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian Armed Forces have vigorously pursued the summer combat training schedule throughout the country’s five military districts (MDs). International attention was sparked by Russia’s recent air-defense and naval exercises—especially the large maritime war games in the Baltic Sea, which... MORE

Alexei Dzermant is a Belarusian champion of closer amalgamation with Russia and the author of the upcoming book Belarus-Eurasia: Borderland of Europe and Russia. “There is one thing the white-red-whites ought to be appreciated for,” he writes, “Their active role in this political crisis has... MORE

Commentators in Russia and the West have often focused on the geopolitics of the Belarusian situation, arguing that Moscow wants a friendly regime in Belarus in order to expand its military presence there and thus be in a position to project power into Central Europe... MORE

Russia traditionally returns to normal work, after a summer break, on September 1. This year, however, although schools reopened as usual, broader public and political life persisted on its earlier course of disarray and downturn. In his televised address to schoolchildren, President Vladimir Putin spoke... MORE

The separatist Georgian region of Abkhazia is undergoing a surge in crypto-mining despite crypto-related activities being illegal there since December 2018. But in one of those apparent legalistic gray areas found throughout the post-Soviet space, while the mining itself is illegal, importing crypto-mining equipment into... MORE

On July 29, Azerbaijan and Turkey launched a two-week long round of joint military exercises with the participation of ground and air forces from both countries. The military drills involving land forces were held from August 1 to 5, in Baku and Nakhchivan; while the... MORE

In recent years, Russia repeatedly demonstrated the increasingly advanced orbital maneuvering capabilities of its satellites by conspicuously moving them closer to Russian, United States and European orbital space assets. These experiments involved the Cosmos 2499 satellite in 2014 (Habr, November 23, 2014), Cosmos 2504 in... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. Elements of the Transnistria conflict-conservation model are taking shape in Ukraine’s Donbas conflict theater, with moves to recast Russia’s state-on-state aggression as an inner-Ukrainian conflict. The July 22 enhanced ceasefire agreement and the preconditions just confirmed for holding... MORE

When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2014, his actions deeply divided Russian nationalists and many other Russians as well; but the Kremlin leader was able to overcome that discord by annexing Crimea and creating what many have referred to as “the Crimean consensus” in Russia.... MORE

In the midst of the political crisis that has engulfed Belarus since its August 9 presidential elections, the Russian state propaganda machine finds itself in an unusual position. The official Russian media outlets have been trying to play the role of the mainstream press, presenting... MORE