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Latest Articles about Middle East
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IN FAREWELL ADDRESS, PUTIN DISTRIBUTES OIL MONEY
It was the “moratorium” on implementing the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, a largely symbolic gesture of little practical consequence, that captured Western attention in Putin’s address to parliament on Thursday, April 26. The 72-minute speech (the longest in this genre) was, however, predominantly... MORE
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RED ARMY MONUMENT REMOVED FROM TALLINN AMID MOSCOW-ENCOURAGED RIOTS
At 5 am on Friday, April 27, the Soviet-Russian occupation of Estonia ended in a symbolic sense with the removal of the Red Army monument known as the Bronze Soldier from downtown Tallinn. The expected event triggered riots by young local Russian hooligans and drunks... MORE
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Kuwaiti Cleric Hamid al-Ali: The Bridge Between Ideology and Action
Hamid bin Abdallah al-Ali is an influential Salafi cleric in Kuwait. He is designated by the U.S. government as a global terrorism financier and supporter, yet his website is registered in Vancouver in Washington state. Figures such as al-Ali are critical to the education and... MORE
Shiite Power Struggle Unfolds in Diwaniya
Since the political bloc loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr abandoned the parliament and government ministries on April 16—in a move to demand Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki set a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops—the Sadrist movement now appears to be tilting toward a more militant... MORE
KREMLIN EXPANDS ECONOMIC INTERESTS IN NORTH KOREA
Few observers believe that Russia has played -- or is playing -- a major role in the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program. But this fact has not dissuaded Moscow from continuing to push for the realization of its interests insofar as the Korean... MORE
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YELTSIN – THE MAN WHO CREATED CONTEMPORARY RUSSIA
Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin died of heart failure in a Kremlin hospital on Monday, April 23. He was 76. His successor, Vladimir Putin, and other Russian and international dignitaries expressed their condolences, praised Yeltsin for creating a new democratic Russia, and many plan to... MORE
RUSSIA’S AMBITIOUS RAILWAY VISION FOR EASTERN SIBERIA FACES REALITY CHECK
Russia has announced an extraordinary project to build a transcontinental Yakutsk-Magadan-Anadyr-Alaska rail link, which would include the world's longest subsea tunnel under the Bering Strait. However, the news comes as a reminder that Russia's major railway projects in the East tend to be loss-making and... MORE
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ECONOMIC THINKING IN THE KREMLIN SHIFTS IN THE “MUNICH” DIRECTION
The organizers of the Russian Economic Forum in London never thought that the Kremlin would sanction their high-profile event. The 10th annual meeting, aimed at bringing together Western investors and Russian business leaders, opened April 22 with only a few scheduled presentations by Russian officials,... MORE
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RUSSIA LAUNCHES NEW STRATEGIC SUBMARINE
The Russian nuclear shipbuilding industry celebrated two successes on Sunday, April 15. At Sevmash -- Russia's largest nuclear submarine-building shipyard -- in Severodvinsk, located north of Moscow on the White Sea, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov officially launched the first of the Borei class... MORE
INDEPENDENT RUSSIAN GAS PRODUCER INCREASES COOPERATION WITH GAZPROM
Novatek, Russia's second-largest natural gas producer, has long been seen as the country's major independent gas player. However, earlier this month Novatek took another step toward further cooperation with state-controlled gas giant Gazprom by taking part as a proxy in a controversial auction to sell... MORE