Russia is inadvertently helping Ukraine, the United States and the European Union to escape the trap of the April 17 Geneva Joint Diplomatic Statement “On the Situation in Ukraine” (https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/04/224957.htm). The quadripartite statement was, in fact, dead on arrival in Geneva, as Russian President Vladimir... MORE

In the past few months, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) has faced increasing pressure from the government in Dushanbe. On April 14, the head of the IRPT in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), Saodatshoh Adolatov, was arrested by security forces in Vanj district... MORE

In a move that both exacerbates international conflicts in the Western Pacific and suggests how Moscow plans to proceed in the Arctic, Russian President Vladimir Putin has closed to all outside shipping and fishing the entire Sea of Okhotsk—some 52,000 square kilometers of water that... MORE

As the Kremlin maintains measures designed to maximize pressure on the interim government in Kyiv, it also has to handle the risks of conflict escalation. A number of signs of increased tensions between both states include the “off-and-on” anti-terrorist operations in southeastern Ukraine, Russia’s renewed... MORE

On April 19, the leader of the Crimean Tatar movement, Mustafa Cemilev, returned home to his native Crimea, following his month-and-a-half-long trip abroad. During his trip, he had met with politicians and officials in Europe and in the United States, gave presentations at the North... MORE

Nationalist-leaning Russian experts are expressing concern over the situation in the North Caucasus, demanding that Moscow use more force there. Against the backdrop of Russia’s aggressive moves in Ukraine, some Russian analysts wonder if the Kremlin will ever be as resolute in defending Russia’s interests... MORE

The week following Easter (April 20) saw some signs of restraint in the behavior of the key parties to the Ukrainian catastrophe, but each of the last ten days has further undermined hopes the crisis could be managed. The unexpected Geneva deal of April 17... MORE

A quick glimpse could lead one to conclude that Georgian-Russian relations are truly improving. After an April 16 meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, Zurab Abashidze, the Georgian prime minister’s special representative for relations with Moscow, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin both sounded highly... MORE

On the morning of April 17, Dagestani parliamentary deputy Musa Islavov was killed on Babayurt Road in the city of Khasavyurt by unidentified assailants who fired at his car before fleeing the crime scene. The deputy was killed on the spot while his driver, 45-year-old... MORE

On April 11, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev appointed Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin as chairman of the Russian part of the inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation with Azerbaijan. The news arrived as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security... MORE