For most of last week Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, traveled to places he knows well and feels good about –Istanbul and Paris. These were neither tourist getaways nor business trips; he had plenty of delicate high-profile political matters to deal with, and none was more... MORE

In the summer of 2008 unidentified sources in the Russian defense ministry began to talk about a working document devoted to force structure development to 2030. The terms “new look” and “army of innovation” were both used to describe the general direction of military modernization... MORE

Russian counter-insurgency efforts in the North Caucasus scored some major successes this week, with the capture of the top Ingush rebel leader and the reported killing of a group of rebels in Chechnya. But, according to a leading Moscow newspaper, the capture of Ali Taziev,... MORE

Russian officials have hinted all along that Russia’s four naval fleets (Northern, Baltic, Black Sea, and Pacific) would receive one French Mistral-class warship each, if the Franco-Russian deal materializes as proposed with four of these ships, designed for coastal assault operations. This is inherently a... MORE

Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, paid an official visit to France on June 8-9, back-to-back with Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s, June 10-11 visit there. The proposed sale of French Mistral amphibious and airborne-assault ships to Russia figured prominently on both visits’ agenda. As the negotiations... MORE

The first days of June in Dagestan have been especially disturbing for the local and federal authorities. Unidentified gunmen opened fire at the Atashka roadside café in the village of Untsukul in Dagestan’s Khasavyurt district and virtually all local stores and other places selling alcoholic... MORE

BP is headed for the exit from the giant Kovykta gas development project in Siberia. The decision seems intended to cut the losses inflicted on BP by Russian authorities and their business allies over the years in this project. Located in eastern Siberia’s Irkutsk oblast,... MORE

Russia’s attempts to rearm and modernize its military have run out of money as its defense industry is ailing. Last month President, Dmitry Medvedev, announced plans to spend 13 trillion Rubles ($420 billion) in ten years (from 2011 to 2020) to rearm the armed forces.... MORE