As a result of the confluence of two developments, one welcome and encouraging and the other dangerous and worrisome, the airline that had maintained a route between Simerfopol (the capital of Crimea) and Turkey is ending that service. Andrey Sokolov, the Russian deputy minister for... MORE

Vostok 2014, the largest operational strategic military exercise in Russia this year, was recast by the Kremlin as its most grand-scale exercise since the Soviet era; involving upwards of 155,000 personnel. The assets and units taking part suggest that the hypothetical enemy or enemies were... MORE

Local Muslims in Russia’s Krasnodar region say the authorities there have imposed an unofficial ban on the construction of mosques. Multiple appeals by the Muslims there remain unanswered and the experts warn that the government’s attempt to contain the spread of Islam in the region... MORE

Russia has been threating those European states that have continued to deliver natural gas to Ukraine after Russia has cut its own supplies to the vulnerable Eastern European country. More recently, some progress has been made in the Russia-Ukraine gas talks being mediated by the... MORE

Big guns have mostly remained silent in eastern Ukraine last week, but diplomatic battles at the United Nations General Assembly have not shown any recess. Russia used to be able to score some easy points at this seasonal show by denouncing the United States’ unilateralism... MORE

Belarusian analysts continue to assess the change in the international order, driven by the crisis in Ukraine, while Belarus’s relations with the West continue to gradually improve. To some extent, these phenomena are inter-related, and Russia’s worsening image in the eyes of the West may... MORE

The situation in Ukraine continues to quickly evolve, and the Russian annexation of Crimea has already mostly faded away from the 24-hour news cycle. Additionally, Western leaders are now hinting that at least some of the sanctions putting pressure on Moscow may soon be suspended... MORE

The Khankala military base near Grozny recently hosted a gathering celebrating the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Joint Group of Forces in the North Caucasus. Among those who attended the event, which undeservedly failed to attract the attention of Russia’s media, were the... MORE

Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are seeking to link their national railways with those of Iran, something that could be an economic lifesaver for Yerevan and an additional outlet for Baku’s exports of Caspian oil and gas. At present, Azerbaijan has the advantage because it does... MORE

After many years of Chechen government appeals, Russia’s Ministry of Defense finally agreed to start drafting Chechen conscripts into the ranks of the Russian armed forces (vedomosti.ru, September 19). This is arguably the development Ramzan Kadyrov has most wanted since the counter-terrorist operation regime in... MORE