In May 2018, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine placed Russian billionaire and “aluminum magnate” Oleg Deripaska, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as three companies related to him (United Company RUSAL and its Moscow- and Cyprus-based branches, Judson... MORE

It has only recently become clear to analysts in the United States that Russia is playing a big role in Latin America to destabilize Washington’s alliance system and threaten US interests. Despite the costs involved in sustaining Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, Russia’s three main “proxies”... MORE

President Vladimir Putin views Africa not as an end in itself, even when he and Russia obviously benefit directly (Rosbalt, January 19; see EDM, October 15), but rather as a battlefield in his renewed cold war against the West. This Soviet-style approach contains within it... MORE

For several years, the United States has fought the Islamic State in Syria without large troop deployments or any significant casualties by maintaining a close alliance with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—the local, secular, anti-Islamist army of the Kurdish-dominated Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, also... MORE

On October 17, a few days after the start of the Turkish military incursion into northern Syria, Turkey’s ambassador to Georgia, Fatma Ceren Yazgan, who does not appear often in front of the press, invited Georgian and foreign journalists to a news conference in Tbilisi.... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin pried loose a couple of energy investment deals from Saudi Arabia on his latest visit to the region, on October 14 and 15 (TASS, Kommersant, October 14), but their total value reached only hundreds of millions of dollars, not the billions... MORE

On October 15–17, Moscow staged a nationwide test of its nuclear deterrent in the strategic command-staff exercise (Strategicheskiye Komandno-Shtabnyye Ucheniya—SKShU) Grom (Thunder) 2019. The exercise involved the Strategic Rocket Forces (Raketnye Voyska Strategicheskogo Naznacheniya—RVSN), Long-Range Aviation, and Military Transport Aviation (Voyenno-Transportnoy Aviatsii—VTA). The participating forces tested the... MORE

On October 3, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Russia to attend the 16th annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club, in Sochi (President.az, October 3). Aliyev’s speech at the high-level event touched on multiple topics, including Azerbaijan’s partnership with Russia,... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement earlier this month (October 3) that his country is working with China to build a common missile-defense radar system attracted enormous attention around the world, especially in the United States (Valdaiclub.com, October 15; see EDM, October 10); but his reference... MORE

The Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum (Interaffairs.ru, October 17), to be held in Sochi, on October 23–24, is expected to become a regular event of huge importance for Moscow (Summitafrica.ru, accessed October 21). In many ways, this Summit is viewed by the Russian side as... MORE