Romanian President Traian Basescu's just-completed first visit to Moscow occasioned discussion on a new proposal on Black Sea sub-regional security. The matter came up during Basescu's session with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It contemplates creating an "operational group" of the six riparian countries to combat... MORE

It looks like the Kremlin will manage to ride out the wave of social protests surrounding the monetization of social benefits without having to sacrifice Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. Meanwhile, the government is squabbling over what to do with the Stabilization Fund -- the excess... MORE

As maneuvering continues around Russia's major oil and gas pipeline projects, Russian experts seek to clarify trends in the ongoing multilateral energy game. There appears to be a consensus that Siberia's hydrocarbon riches are set to become an important source of energy supplies for Northeast... MORE

In recent months, Moscow has launched several foreign policy initiatives as part of an effort to recapture something of its vanished influence in the Middle East. Since 1991 Russian officials have periodically claimed that Arab leaders have solicited Moscow's return to the region to counterbalance... MORE

Clearly, the recent democratic transitions in Georgia and Ukraine have put the U.S.-Russia relationship under strain. The crucial factor in U.S.-Russia relations may now be the future evolution of the political system inside Russia. Thus far, the Bush administration has tended to turn a blind... MORE

Although Moscow's East Asian policies have been eclipsed by the oil and gas game, the long saga of Russia's desire to create a Pacific oil pipeline, coupled with the controversial Yuganskneftegaz sell-off, have added a measure of confusion to Russia's ties with China. Last December,... MORE

Despite initial hopes that Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Japan in March, the month is rapidly approaching without a date being set. Thirty years ago, at the height of detente, there was great hope for Russo-Japanese relations. The script then stated that, despite tense... MORE

Over the past year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has completed a radical re-centralization of the Russian political system. Skeptics who doubted that he had the acumen and political support to conceive and implement such an agenda have been proved wrong. But now the question is:... MORE