Since 2013, when no-notice “snap” exercises were first introduced, they have become a regular feature in the training of the Russian Armed Forces. These more-or-less comprehensive exercises—regardless of the number of troops and equipment involved—generally tend to follow the same pattern: participating units are alerted,... MORE

Moscow reacted harshly to North Korea’s most recent nuclear test. “Such explicit disregard for the norms of international law and the opinion of the international community merits the strongest possible condemnation,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared in a statement (Mid.ru, September 9). The... MORE

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been carrying on a rapprochement with the Vatican and has even been pushing for Pope Francis to visit Minsk (Interfax, May 23, August 19). Such efforts, along with discussions in the Belarusian media about the possibility of having the Belarusian... MORE

On September 5, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested Rasul Saduev, the head of the Criminal Investigations Department (Ugolovny Rozysk) of the Ministry of Interior in the Dagestani city of Khasavyurt. On the same day, the security services also arrested police colonel Gimbat Likhiyalov,... MORE

The Russian Armed Forces are routinely subject to “snap inspection” exercises and various measures to boost their ability to fight and deploy to assorted theaters of operations. And combat readiness checks were also central to the Kavkaz 2016 military exercise, the highlight of this training... MORE

Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan became embroiled in a fresh standoff over the disputed mountain Ungar-Too, located on the border. The latest incident once more highlighted the need for rapid and radical efforts to improve bilateral relations and eliminate tensions between the two neighboring countries. On August... MORE

Belarus held parliamentary elections on Sunday, September 11. Two opposition-minded candidates have been elected to the Belarusian legislature’s lower chamber, the House of Representatives: Anna Konopatskaya from the United Civic Party (headed by Anatol Lebedko, a long-time opposition politician) and Elena Anisim, deputy chairperson of... MORE

The agreement on managing the Syrian civil war, reached between the United States and Russia in Geneva in the early hours of Saturday, September 10, was both surprising and pre-determined. US Secretary of State John Kerry had invested so much effort in the endless rounds... MORE

The Presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran—Ilham Aliyev, Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani, respectively—met in Baku, on August 8, and signed a Joint Declaration committing their countries to deepening cooperation on energy. In particular, the three sides pledged to collaborate on exploring oil and natural... MORE

Whenever a Russian president travels to Asiatic Russia or the Asia-Pacific region, he traditionally enunciates important precepts of Russian foreign policy in Asia. This was true of both Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin during all three of his presidential terms. Putin’s recent trip to the... MORE