After four massive terrorists attacks against Russian civilians in ten days, culminating in the horrific attack on schoolchildren in Beslan, Russian President Vladimir Putin finally acknowledged the deficiencies in the nation's law enforcement and security machinery and vowed a major overhaul. In a televised address... MORE

As the death toll in Beslan climbed past 350, Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his silence on September 4 in an address to the Russian people. During his televised speech, Putin showed no sign of revising Russia's security policies in Chechnya and seemed to utilize... MORE

During August simmering tensions within the Russian government surfaced, with ministers trading recriminations in public view. Some see the dispute as politics as usual, the struggle for power between rival factions. Others, such as Nikali Vardul, see a profound rift between liberals, philosophically committed to... MORE

A bombing near the Rizhskaya metro station in northeastern Moscow on August 31 may have been the work of a female suicide bomber who was the sister of a Chechen woman suspected of having blown up one of the two airliners brought down on August... MORE

On the last day of summer, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder visited Russian President Vladimir Putin at his vacation residence, Bocharov Ruchei, near Sochi. Their discussions were broad and inconclusive, ranging from the Middle East and Iraq, to Russian oil, Iran's... MORE

The Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun is reporting that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is interested in visiting the disputed Southern Kuril Islands; the "Northern Territories" in Japanese parlance. Koizumi hopes to at least make a helicopter or boat tour of the islands as soon as... MORE

In mid-August, the Bush administration unveiled plans for the global redeployment of U.S. troops. According to the Pentagon blueprint, around 100,000 U.S. servicemen will be moved from Western Europe and Asia back to North America, while some units will be sent to new forward positions... MORE

The Federal Security Service (FSB) has abandoned its initial opinion that the near-simultaneous crashes of two civilian airliners on August 24 were likely the result of pilot error, mechanical defects, or problems with fuel quality. Within days, the FSB announced that investigators had found evidence... MORE

The U.S. government on August 12 weighed in on the situation surrounding the beleaguered Russian oil giant Yukos. State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli reiterated the position that Washington has stated in the past--that, as he put it on this occasion, "All parties need to... MORE

Naval maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean will mark the first joint exercises conducted between the Russian Navy and NATO. On August 7 the Baltic Fleet set sail for the Mediterranean Sea to join the Spanish Navy and sail to the Atlantic and demonstrate their battle... MORE