Some 150 years ago Russian Tsar Nicolas I, who was considered one of the Old Continent's most powerful rulers, contemptuously called the Ottoman Turkish Empire the "sick man of Europe." Had the arrogant autocrat been able to see contemporary developments, he would have been tremendously... MORE

Russia's perennial introspection within its security elites, pondering the troubles that have so beset its armed forces generally and in Chechnya specifically, has again broached the idea of creating professional servicemen within its units deployed in Chechnya, and Tajikistan. Hailed as a potential panacea for... MORE

Recent Russian proposals for debt-equity swaps in Central Asia and the Caucasus represent a bold new strategy for extending Russia's influence in the southern tier. Debt-for-equity swaps involve trading debt for ownership shares in enterprises. For more than a decade Russian financial officials have been... MORE

Various Russian media have reported that a bill will soon be introduced into the State Duma that will turn the post of city mayor from an elected position into an appointed one. According to the Gazeta newspaper, the proposed system for choosing mayors is likely... MORE

A poll conducted over September 24-27 by the Levada Center, the independent polling agency headed by the eminent sociologist Yuri Levada, found that for the sake of fighting terrorism, Russians are prepared to limit the right to travel abroad and move within the country, to... MORE

The Russian military is being increasingly tasked with countering terrorism within the Russian Federation, in an attempt to increase security and strengthen the state's capacity to respond to and effectively combat terrorism. This shift is reflected in many of the security measures announced by Defense... MORE

Several hundred leftist demonstrators marked the eleventh anniversary of the so-called "October Events" of October 3-4, 1993. A group estimated by police at no more than 100, made up of members of Viktor Anpilov's Working Russia party and the equally radical Union of Officers, gathered... MORE

As the Kremlin continues strengthening its "power vertical," the West appears to be stepping up its criticism of the Putin administration, accusing Russia of moving in the wrong direction. Numerous Russian "hawks" say the Western reaction only reveals the Euro-Atlantic community's perfidious designs on Russia.... MORE

An interview published on September 29 with a key adviser to President Vladimir Putin, deputy presidential administration chief Vladislav Surkov, has elicited comment from a number of Russian observers. Komsomolskaya pravda, which conducted the interview, noted that President Putin had declared in his speech following... MORE

President Vladimir Putin's September 13 package of reforms to centralize political power was met with consternation by outside observers, who see it as a rollback of democratization in Russia. Independent observers inside Russia were also baffled. They had long lost any illusions about democracy, but... MORE