The Mistral-class helicopter carrier, several of which France offers to sell and license to Russia, is the most modern French warship class. At 24,000 tons it is second only to the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in size. The first Mistral-class warship entered service in... MORE

On November 23 the helicopter carrier Mistral, pride of the French Navy, laid anchor at St. Petersburg on a week-long visit with political, strategic, and commercial overtones (Interfax, November 23-27). The French government wants to sell one or, better, several vessels of this class to... MORE

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko met in Yalta on November 19 and reached a number of agreements, confirming once again that their relationship is of a special character. Putin reiterated that Naftohaz Ukrainy, the debt-ridden state-controlled oil and gas... MORE

Moldova’s parliament, a product of repeat elections in July and deadlocked since then, has scheduled its fourth official attempt this year (technically the fifth attempt) to elect a head of state for December 7. The governing Alliance for European Integration (AEI) officially supports Marian Lupu,... MORE

A spokesman for the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office, Vladimir Markin, announced today (December 1) that a blast on the Tyumen-Baku railway line in Dagestan yesterday (November 30) was a terrorist act. That blast, which investigators said equaled 300 grams of TNT, slightly... MORE

On November 24 and 25 two Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers flew long range patrolling missions above neutral waters in the Arctic to the Atlantic Oceans. Russian Air Force spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Vladimir Drik said that during the 16 hour missions that featured mid-air refueling from Il-78... MORE

The resounding speech made by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in his annual address to the country’s parliament had no impact whatsoever on the situation in the North Caucasus (www.kremlin.ru, November 12). While local officials are left guessing who will become the Kremlin’s man in charge... MORE

On November 21-22 in St. Petersburg, the Moldovan governing alliance’s candidate for head of state, Marian Lupu, attended the congress of Russia’s party of power, United Russia, which is officially headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Lupu initialed together with Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov a... MORE

Moldova’s simultaneous crises –economic and constitutional– have opened a door for Russia to influence politics in Chisinau and arbitrate the power struggles there. The dual crisis, ongoing since early spring, has deepened after two inconclusive parliamentary elections, four failed attempts to elect the head of... MORE

This week is the last in the life of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) that was signed on July 31, 1991 by Presidents George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev. This most complex treaty in the history of arms control expires on December 5, and... MORE