After the scandal following the labeling of the Russian human rights organizations like Memorial, under the leadership of Oleg Orlov, and Grazhdanskoe Sodeistvie, under the leadership of Svetlana Gannushkina, as “foreign agents,” it was expected that rights groups in the North Caucasus would be the... MORE

Throughout the year, the Middle East has remained engulfed in conflict as well as intense international diplomatic negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. And just as the United States and other powers are grappling with the threats posed by the violence in the Middle... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected Ukraine’s offer of constitutional status for the Donetsk-Luhansk territory as unacceptable. Addressing an international economic forum in Vladivostok, on his way back from China today (September 4), Putin dismissed Kyiv’s offer as inadequate in content; unilateral, instead of being... MORE

By and large, the policy of the current leadership of Chechnya is to emphasize the positive sides of life both in the republic itself and in the Russian Federation in general. However, Chechen authorities sometimes show their discontent with Russian authorities. In one of the... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. On August 24, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called together a unique meeting, in Berlin, of the “Normandy” format minus Russia (though essentially in consensus with Moscow). Merkel, along with French President François Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko,... MORE

An overall consensus, in broad outline, seems to have taken shape among the main European players, pre-eminently Moscow and Berlin, to accelerate a solution to the conflict “in” Ukraine by the end of this year, on Russia’s terms. German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted a meeting... MORE

Fighting has dramatically subsided in eastern Ukraine by September 1. A couple of weeks ago, in mid-August, the situation was different and the guns were blazing. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists: “It is now possible to call the ‘separation line’ [in Donbas] a... MORE

The parties of President Petro Poroshenko, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klichko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk have joined forces ahead of the local elections scheduled for October 25. This is in order to defeat the Opposition Bloc, which is associated with the government overthrown in February... MORE

German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and French President François Hollande, on August 24, in Berlin (“Normandy” format minus Russia), at Poroshenko’s urgent request. This unprecedented meeting followed systematic violations of the ceasefire and open sabotage of the international monitoring mission by... MORE

The Cossack organization of Adygea is pushing for the introduction of Cossack patrols in the republic like those in neighboring Krasnodar region. Circassians in Adygea, however, are against the move, fearing the Cossacks will gain disproportionate power in the republic. “When a Cossack patrol steps... MORE