Moscow plans to introduce a new training program for military professionals in early May, which envisages intensive six week courses for contract personnel. The latest in an endless series of experiments aimed at improving standards among kontraktniki is also intended to reverse the long standing... MORE

In February 2012, Giorgi Baramidze, Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia and State Secretary for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, revealed that Ukraine is continuing to supply weapons to Georgia. “Moscow’s position is not upheld by practically the entire world community. And, thank God, that Ukraine also... MORE

A recent International Crisis Group (ICG) report on tensions in Kyrgyzstan’s south has raised pointed questions about the country’s underlying stability. The ICG report, “Kyrgyzstan: Widening Ethnic Divisions in the South,” calls the current peace in Osh “superficial,” noting that “neither the Kyrgyz nor Uzbek... MORE

The United States and its allies have undertaken a sustained effort since 2008 to develop sea, ground, and air transportation routes to Afghanistan’s north, through the territories of the former Soviet Union. This so-called Northern Distribution Network (NDN) now conveys large quantities of non-lethal supplies... MORE

On April 12-13, high-profile experts close to the Russian government participated in a conference on the North Caucasus in the city of Pyatigorsk, the seat of the Moscow’s envoy to the region, Aleksandr Khloponin. A deputy to Khloponin, Yuri Oleinikov, stated that the administration had... MORE

Orthodox Easter was celebrated in Russia last Sunday with all the ceremonial pomp and official hypocrisy, but it has hardly produced any calming effect on the brewing political crisis. Ahead of his return to the Kremlin, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s last official address to the... MORE

Security forces in Ingushetia launched a special operation today (April 13) in a portion of the republic’s Sunzha district where a group of militants was reportedly encircled. A group of around ten alleged militants were reportedly blockaded yesterday (April 12) in a wooded area near... MORE

The latest top-level meetings of post-Soviet regional groupings, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), pledged to intensify joint efforts to counter security and economic challenges. However, despite continued Russian efforts to sustain the groupings’ unity, the CIS and... MORE

A new round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries (United States, France, United Kingdom, Russia, China and Germany) engaged in diplomatic efforts with the Islamic Republic is scheduled to be held in Istanbul this weekend. As the meeting comes against the... MORE

Fourteen companies, including Gazprom and three other Russian firms, are bidding to acquire DEPA and its fully-owned subsidiary DESFA, the Greek state-controlled gas transportation systems. Additionally, Gazprom is targeting Greece’s dominant oil company, Hellenic Petroleum, part-owner of DEPA, for possible acquisition. Apart from commercial considerations,... MORE