On September 8, Moscow residents will elect members of the Mosgorduma, or city council. Moscow is the richest, politically most important and most populous subject of the Russian Federation, but the Mosgorduma does not wield any real power: 45 deputies represent some 7,308,000 voters in... MORE

A bewildering array of divergent opinions on Belarus emanates from its closest neighbors. But for a relatively small and landlocked country committed to retaining and developing its statehood, it is vital to pay close attention to all those various viewpoints. Three concurrent recent examples highlight... MORE

A coalition of mutually antagonistic parties, “leftist pro-Russia” and “rightist pro-Western”—an unprecedented case in post-Soviet countries or indeed in Europe writ large—took over power in Moldova two months ago (June 8), replacing Vladimir Plahotniuc’s personal rule that bequeathed a country in distress. In this situation,... MORE

Speaking to the media on June 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that “when it comes to private security companies […] they are indeed present there [Syria]… However, they are related to neither the Russian government, nor the Armed Forces; therefore, we have no comment.”... MORE

On June 27, the Moscow-backed separatist authorities of Abkhazia again closed their region’s border with Georgia. Tbilisi considers this border, which runs along the Enguri River, purely “administrative,” but Sukhumi and Moscow recognize it as a “state” border. The Abkhazian de facto government justified its... MORE

When a government engages in mass murder or forcible deportations, most observers see that as a clear sign of ethnic engineering—even if there are unresolved debates as to whether such actions fall under the terms of the international convention against genocide. Yet, when the powers... MORE

Russia’s Armed Forces have commenced Okeanskiy Shchit (“Ocean Shield”) 2019 naval exercises in the Baltic Sea, under the direction of the commander-in-chief of the Russian Military-Maritime Fleet (Voyenno-Morskoy Flot—VMF), Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov. The exercises, running from August 1 to 9, also involve platforms from the... MORE

A Russian commercial tanker named Nika Spirit entered the Ukrainian port of Izmail on July 24. However, using the EQUASIS international information system, Ukraine identified the cargo ship as the vessel (at that point named the Neyma) that had blocked the Kerch Strait on November... MORE

On July 17, Viktor Medvedchuk, the leader of the pro-Russia opposition in Ukraine’s newly elected parliament, visited the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where he launched a “Concept Plan to Resolve the Crisis in the South-East of Ukraine.” A long-time Kremlin ally, Medvedchuk is also the... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin is promoting his closest Ukrainian confidant, Viktor Medvedchuk, on the international level. This effort was manifest ahead of Ukraine’s parliamentary elections and is set to continue thereafter. The Kremlin is using Medvedchuk in several, parallel roles: First, as leader of the... MORE