The recent signing of a resolution after a meeting of the Muslim Spiritual Board of Dagestan on the one side, and the Salafi-backed Association of Akhlu Sunna on the other on April 29, appeared on the surface to herald a sensational victory for the Salafis... MORE

Historically naval exercises have sometimes played a key role in diplomatic signaling.  One can only look back at the Franco-Russian naval exercises in 1891-92, which portended the creation of the Double Entente and the Franco-Russian alliance.  Bearing that in mind what do the Russo-Chinese naval... MORE

In mid-April, Azerbaijan’s State Border Service (SBS) reported on the successful completion of week-long tactical exercises in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The exercises, called “Protection of Oil and Gas Fields, Platforms, and Export Pipelines,” involved around 1,200 servicemen, 21 ships, 20 speedboats... MORE

The Republic of Dagestan has become the principal scene of all the North Caucasian resistance movement in the past two years. Not only does the republic have the largest number of jamaats operating on its territory in the North Caucasus, but it also boasts of... MORE

The forming of the new cabinet and presidential administration in Moscow after the inauguration of Vladimir Putin for a third six-year term as president on May 7, seems to have turned out to be much more time-consuming than previously anticipated. On May 14, prime minister... MORE

On May 14, 28 members of the US House of Representatives appealed to International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) President Rene Fasel not to hold the 2014 world championships in Minsk. The politicians argued that the people of Belarus lack basic civil rights, that the situation... MORE

Georgian billionaire and aspirant to power, Bidzina Ivanishvili, has started selling some of his assets in Russia for liquidity. Some of the proceeds will probably be ploughed into Ivanishvili’s political operations in Georgia and third countries. Ivanishvili amassed his $6.4-billion worth  in Russia during the... MORE

On May 12, Ingushetia’s most well-known opposition organization Mehk-Khel published an address to the newly elected president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Ingushetia’s opposition called on Putin to dismiss the head of the region, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. The authors of the open letter cited “critical political and... MORE

With the world’s attention on London in the run-up to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, it is important to bear in mind that the next Olympics in 2014 will be held in the Russian Black Sea resort town of Sochi, which abuts some of the... MORE

Although President Viktor Yanukovych publicly portrays his foreign policy as multi-vector – balancing between Russia and the West – in reality, there has been a substantial shift in Ukraine’s orientation toward Russia (see EDM, November 3, 2009, January 20, 2010, January 29, 2010). Yanukovych’s multi-vectorism... MORE