As the remaining assets of the oil giant Yukos were seized last week, the fate of Russia's former leading oil company and its subsidiaries has come to symbolize the country's investment climate. The Moscow Arbitration Court agreed on April 19 to freeze the remaining key... MORE

Although the world media emphasized the proclamation of a Sino-Indian strategic partnership during Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's recent visit to New Delhi, it overlooked another equally important development. Wen Jiabao announced that three "influential countries" -- China, India, and Russia -- "share identical or similar... MORE

Russia is apparently ready to flaunt its arms sales programs to countries at risk -- or who pose a risk -- of war and to do so in Africa. Recent reports announce that Moscow will continue modernizing Eritrean aircraft and sell Eritrea 80 of its... MORE

Following a series of recent setbacks, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has been dismissed as an irrelevant institution. In an apparent attempt to reinvent itself, the CIS has clinched a fresh deal with the China-dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Yet despite claims of "unanimity"... MORE

Improvements in Russia's air defense and naval capabilities, long overdue in the areas of technology and manpower, are serving to boost the overall image of the Russian military. Senior officers, disgruntled by the slow progress of military reform, point to the introduction or current use... MORE

Opening the Hanover Trade Fair on April 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announced agreement on a project to deliver Russian gas directly to Germany by a pipeline under the Baltic Sea. The two leaders had strongly encouraged the respective gas... MORE

Although the Russian government has announced what was seen as a final decision for a Japan-bound Pacific oil pipeline route, some recent statements by the country's top officials suggest otherwise. According to Kremlin chief of staff Dmitry Medvedev, Pacific oil pipeline plans are to be... MORE

Aides and speechwriters for Russian President Vladimir Putin are now putting the final touches on his annual address to the Federal Assembly due to be delivered by the end of this month. In the leak-proof Kremlin, the speech's content is guarded more vigilantly than were... MORE

For the second time in the space of one week, the Kremlin has embarrassed an unsuspecting European Union by holding parallel meetings on the settlement of frozen conflicts. While EU leaders came through the front door, Russian-installed secessionist leaders entered through the back door. The... MORE