As Russian defense manufacturers continue to stumble and produce failure-prone arms and equipment, Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy prime minister in charge of the defense industry, has been tasked by the Kremlin with fixing this under-performing sector. Yet, rather than introducing significant reforms and economic incentives... MORE

In October 2013, Russian authorities reportedly thwarted a possible attack by militant extremists against the Maradykovo chemical weapons (CW) storage and elimination facility in the Middle Volga region of Kirov. The authorities stated that two young males from the North Caucasus allegedly had bomb components... MORE

Soon after outlawing the Russian version of the Koran translated by the well-known scholar Elmir Kuliev (https://kavpolit.com/zapret-kulieva-ne-zapret-perevoda-a-zapret-korana/), it became apparent that the Russian authorities had opted for the most uncompromising plan to push back the onslaught of Islamization in the country. The process of Islamization,... MORE

Tensions are high in Russia over the upcoming “Russian March,” which has taken place annually on November 4—“Unity Day”—since 2005, when it was first instigated by nationalists and neo-Nazis. The November 4 holiday was reinstituted by the government eight years ago to celebrate national unity.... MORE

The European Union’s Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, scheduled for November 28–29, is less than a month away. Unlike Ukraine, whose hopes of signing landmark political and trade deals with the EU in Vilnius hang in the balance amid wrangling over the fate of former... MORE

Having failed to achieve tangible success in combating the armed jihadi resistance in the North Caucasus, Russia has opted for the path of Joseph Stalin. Interestingly enough, the proposal did not come from any sort of Bolshevik party in the Russian State Duma—indeed, President Vladimir... MORE

Next week will mark one year since Sergei Shoigu replaced Russia’s previous defense minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, who was disgraced by an inquiry into alleged corruption in the defense ministry–controlled holding company Oboronservis (see EDM, October 29). Before this appointment, Shoigu had served for less than... MORE

Inaugurated on October 29, 2013, the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey, Istanbul’s undersea Marmaray railway tunnel is the world’s first connecting two continents and is designed to withstand earthquakes up to 9.0 on the Richter scale. Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep... MORE

Russian pollsters say that the Russian public has changed its attitude toward the North Caucasus over the years. The authoritative Moscow-based polling organization, the Levada-Center, polled Russians about the North Caucasus throughout the 1990s and 2000s. “When the war was still ongoing in the North... MORE

The Central Electoral Commission of Georgia has finalized the vote count after last Sunday’s (October 27) presidential election (https://www.results.cec.gov.ge). The candidate of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) coalition, Giorgi Margvelashvili, received 62.11 percent of votes cast; the leader of the opposition United National Movement (UNM)... MORE