The Malaysian passenger jet Flight MH17, which crashed on July 17, killing 298 people, was apparently shot down over the territory of the Ukrainian region of Donbas, controlled by pro-Russia and Moscow-backed separatists. Russian authorities have gone into their traditional mode of rejecting any possible... MORE

As Russia’s relations with the West rapidly deteriorate, there are noticeable signs that Belarus’s relations with the West are improving. Thus, during a July conference with Belarus’s ambassadors and consular workers, Vladimir Makei, the Belarusian minister of foreign affairs, averred that “recently, we managed to... MORE

In his July 11 video blog address to the nation, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev offered a number of video sequences portraying the day-to-day activities of his government. One of these clips included a Cabinet discussion debating Russia’s potential responses to Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia... MORE

The head of the Circassian organization Adyge Khase in Karachaevo-Cherkessia accused Russian authorities of having a policy of double standards in regard to assisting compatriots abroad. According to Muhamed Cherkesov, only about 30 Circassian refugees from Syria have been allowed to settle in Karachaevo-Cherkessia, while... MORE

German diplomacy went into high gear after the shooting down of an international airliner by Russia’s proxy forces in Ukraine’s east on July 17. The terrorist act with the use of a Russian-supplied surface-to-air missile system killed all 298 people from 11 countries aboard the... MORE

Over the last 25 years, many proposals have been suggested for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Among them have been a swapping of territories between the two former Soviet republics and autonomy for Karabakh at the level approaching that of... MORE

The “commander-in-chief” of the “Novorossiya” defense forces (the Russia-supported separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine), Igor Girkin (a.k.a. Strelkov), told journalists recently that prior to March 31, 2013, he had been a colonel in the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). By his admission, he had participated... MORE

Thursday’s (July 17) missile hit on Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 that killed 298 people and left a field of scattered remains in the Donetsk region, some 50 kilometers away from the border with Russia, has become a tragedy that could change the course of the... MORE

Belarus’s Independence Day is celebrated on July 3. On that day, 70 years ago, Minsk was liberated from the Nazi occupiers. This July 3, President Vladimir Putin of Russia participated in Minsk’s celebration. Two days prior to that event, during a grand ceremonial meeting devoted... MORE

Russia is facing a new problem and this concerns the new front that the Chechens have launched outside the North Caucasus. As a result of the brutal suppression of the Chechen armed resistance, only three small groups are left in the republic: the group led... MORE