The annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (May 24–26) managed to attract more high-level foreign guests than could be expected considering Russia’s stagnant economy and relative lack of interest from international investors. Arguably, the organizers should have expressed gratitude for this success to United States... MORE

May 2018 has been a critical test for Georgia. Over the past several weeks, a series of events in the capital of Tbilisi have collectively raised questions in some quarters about the actual level of consolidation of Georgian democracy and have challenged Georgi Kvirikashvili’s government... MORE

This year as every year for more than a century, the nearly 500,000 Circassians in their North Caucasus homeland and the more than five million Circassians in the diaspora paused, on May 21, to remember the losses they suffered during their 101-year-long resistance to Russian... MORE

Last month (April 2018), Ukrainian Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yury Lavrenyuk appealed to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to prohibit Russian vessels from entering Ukraine’s domestic waterways because of the high terrorist threat level they allegedly pose (Mtu.gov.ua, April 23). The Russian reaction... MORE

Last month, President Nursultan Nazarbayev made several new appointments to the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan (Nomad.su, April 18). On April 18, Major General Kaidar Karakulov was promoted to commander of the Land Assault Troops of the Land Forces. Major General Dulat Adyrbekov now occupies Karakulov’s... MORE

On May 28, Azerbaijan celebrates the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR)—the first democratic state with a parliamentary form of government in the Muslim World. Baku has launched a worldwide campaign to mark the centenary in an effort to attract... MORE

After almost five years of fits and starts on the question, Moscow is set to open a second military base in Kyrgyzstan. With this strengthened military presence, Russia will be in a better position to respond to any militant or terrorist threats potentially spilling over... MORE

Dry and sunny summer weather in the southern wooded and steppe reaches of the Russian-Ukrainian border means trouble and potential military escalation as the land dries up after the spring thaw. Vehicles may again move freely through dirt roads and fields, while aircraft pilots are... MORE

The death of Richard Pipes, one of the United States’ foremost Russian scholars, generated quite a resonance in the Russian media. Some honored him as a respected enemy (Zavtra, May 18); while others lauded him as a preeminent scholar, one of the precious few Westerners... MORE

*To read Part One please click here.   For several centuries, military theorists in Russia have debated whether the special qualities of the Russian soldier can compensate for the technological superiority of the adversary (see Part One, EDM, May 16). Today, no one is likely... MORE