According to Admiral Viktor Chirkov, the commander in chief of the Russian Navy, Moscow is currently building an aircraft carrier of tomorrow. This future-oriented carrier will possess broad capabilities connected to the use of naval aviation in future contingencies. In addition, the vessel will allegedly... MORE

On February 27, one of the leading Russian opposition figures, Boris Nemtsov, was brazenly assassinated in Moscow, near the Kremlin (see EDM, March 2). Nemtsov was known for criticizing President Vladimir Putin and his regime. Unexpectedly, however, the government quickly followed up with an investigation... MORE

Now that Vladimir Putin has admitted that he seized Crimea by force rather than annexed it to Russia following the free expression of the will of its population (Euromaidan Press, March 10), it is possible that more people will focus not only on that violation... MORE

On March 6, the car of the commander of the Ukrainian special police battalion “Slobozhanshchyna,” Andriy Yanholenko, exploded in the government-controlled eastern city of Kharkiv. The commander and his spouse were inside the car at the time of the explosion and both were hospitalized. Yanholenko... MORE

Since Moscow initiated military operations in Ukraine in February 2014, China has seemingly adopted an ambiguous stance as Russia’s annexation of Crimea and destabilization of southeastern Ukraine evoked international condemnation. During the past year, Beijing and Moscow strengthened their strategic partnership by deepening economic ties... MORE

In the run up to the signing of the agreement between Russia and South Ossetia “On Alliance and Integration,” which should take place soon (Interpressnews.ge, March 7), the president of South Ossetia, Leonid Tibilov, lashed out at those residents of the breakaway Georgian autonomy who... MORE

It took a week for the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to produce a pair of plausible suspects in the shocking murder of Boris Nemtsov on February 28 (see EDM, March 2). Last Saturday (March 7), FSB Director Aleksandr Bortnikov reported to President Vladimir Putin... MORE

On March 2, a court in the southern Dagestani city of Derbent ruled that the criminal case against the city’s mayor, Imam Yaraliev, was illegal. Prosecutors appealed the court’s decision, accusing the mayor of abuse of power. A criminal investigation was launched against Yaraliev on... MORE

When, in December 1918, the Red Army captured Minsk and the short-lived (established on March 25, 1918) Belarusian People’s Republic (BPR) ceased to exist, multiple nationalist activists fled Belarus and found refuge in several European countries, including Germany. After Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist (Nazi) Party... MORE

On February 25, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev made a televised address to the nation to announce an early presidential election that will take place on April 26. The head of state used his right to call an early election granted to him by article 41(3-1)... MORE