On April 29, the Russian security services wiped out the leadership of the insurgency in Kabardino-Balkaria in a single stroke. Ten rebels, including rebel leader Asker Dzhappuev (aka Abdullah), deputy leader Kazbek Tashuev (aka Abdul Dzhabbar) and Ratmir Shameyev (aka Zakaria) were killed in a... MORE

Despite the distractions of other crises the Russian government continues to plow ahead with its designs for the Balkans, particularly the intended South Stream pipeline. In its quest for renewed influence in the Balkans, Serbia has emerged as an important partner for Russia. And to... MORE

The “No” vote in the UN Security Council on the draft resolution condemning the use of force against the civilian population in Syria marked a significant shift in Russia’s position towards the turmoil that has engulfed North Africa and the Middle East since the start... MORE

International donors committed a total of some 550 million Euros ($790 million) for the Chernobyl Shelter Facility (CSF) fund at the donor conference in Kyiv on April 19. Although this is less than the Ukrainian government originally hoped to raise, it is still an achievement... MORE

The Russian propaganda machine described the death of each and every secondary member of the armed resistance movement in the North Caucasus as having done "irreparable damage to the insurgency." If the man killed in the fighting is among the volunteers from the Gulf States,... MORE

Russian law-enforcement agencies conducted a special operation today (April 29) in the village of Progress, located on the administrative border between Kabardino-Balkaria and Stavropol Krai. According to the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK), 16 people suspected of involvement with the “armed underground” were killed in the... MORE

Russia has signaled that it can leverage its veto in the UN Security Council to entrap NATO in a protracted conflict in Libya. On April 26, Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergei Lavrov, told the media that Russia would not support a new Security Council resolution, if... MORE

As Turkey prepares for the parliamentary elections slated for June12, tension in the country has intensified. The decision by the Supreme Election Board (YSK), to bar many pro-Kurdish independent candidates which have sparked a major political debate as well as street demonstrations, underscoring the challenges... MORE

On April 25 and 26, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov paid a “working visit” to the occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which Russia unilaterally “recognizes” as states. He visited Russian army and border troop cantonments, met with the Moscow-installed local leaders, and used... MORE

On April 21, Gazeta Yuga, a weekly newspaper that is published in Nalchik, reported on the continuing efforts of Circassian groups in Kabardino-Balkaria to help their ethnic kin stuck in the fighting in Libya. Some activists in the North Caucasus have proposed that Libyans of... MORE