On September 30, trading on the Moscow Exchange pushed up the Russian ruble to 62.81 per US dollar, its highest recorded value for the current year (RT, October 3), marking a 31 percent appreciation versus the greenback since end of January 2016. The move reflected,... MORE

The ruler of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has finally reacted to the ongoing scandal related to Chechen refugees stuck in Belarus since the summer (see EDM, September 29). Using his favorite means of public communication, Instagram, Kadyrov dismissed claims that residents of Chechnya have to leave... MORE

Russia’s highly ambitious military modernization agenda to 2020 has garnered unprecedented government spending to redress the long hiatus in replacing dated weapons equipment. Yet, it faces potentially crippling obstacles to a fuller implementation of such goals. The original plan, to achieve 70 percent new or... MORE

October 2016 marks the centennial of the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railroad (Trans-Sib), Russia and the world’s longest railroad line. Yet, no special celebrations are planned—in part due to Russia’s current economic difficulties, but also because that fabled railroad may be reaching the end of... MORE

With Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev settling into Uzbekistan’s top spot as interim head of state following the death of President Islam Karimov (see EDM, September 8), questions have been mounting about the new leader’s background and what Mirziyaev-era Uzbekistan will look like. According to forecasts,... MORE

On September 24, Russia and Pakistan began their first-ever joint military exercises, “Friendship 2016.” Roughly 70 personnel from a mechanized infantry brigade based in Russia’s Southern Military District are participating in the 16-day exercise along with 130 Pakistani troops. The two countries’ Armed Forces are... MORE

News and rumors of appointments and dismissals at the top levels of the Russian government have proliferated in recent weeks. And these continue to eclipse the tragic escalation of the war in Syria as well as efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries... MORE

Against the backdrop of Western sanctions against Russia, European countries are increasingly trying to defend their cooperation with Moscow by saying it is vital for their efforts to combat international terrorism. Chechens, who are scattered across Europe, often become targets of such cooperation. The Chechen... MORE

A snap inspection in late August, involving three military districts and the Northern Fleet, as well as the subsequent strategic exercise Kavkaz 2016, held in southwestern Russia on September 5–10 (see EDM, September 8, 13, 14, 15, 20), together seem to indicate a turning point... MORE

This week (September 28), a Dutch-led group of investigators from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine published the preliminary results of their more-than-two-year investigation into the crash of flight MH17. The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down, on July 17, 2014, over territory... MORE