
Latest Articles about Middle East
Eyewitnesses Say Ingushetia Attackers Were Mostly Locals
While the numbers are still preliminary, Russian news agencies early on June 23 quoted a source in Ingushetia's Interior Ministry as saying that 57 people were killed in attacks launched simultaneously by armed guerrillas across Ingushetia. The attacks, which began on the evening of June... MORE
Russia Launches Large-scale Military Exercises
A historic large-scale Russian military exercise is currently in progress, testing the ability of the armed forces to deploy high-readiness and reserve units rapidly across Russian territory. The operational strategic military exercise, codenamed Mobility 2004, began at 0800 (Moscow time) on June 9, with three... MORE
Putin Backs Bush On Saddam And Terrorism
Russian observers, like their US counterparts, have been reacting to President Vladimir Putin's assertion that Russian intelligence agencies had received information that Saddam Hussein's regime was planning terrorist attacks against American targets and had warned US intelligence. Putin made the comment on June 18 while... MORE
Putin: We Are Not Trying To Bankrupt Yukos
In a move that sent Russia's stock market into frenzied trading, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on June 17 that authorities are not seeking to bankrupt embattled oil company Yukos. Putin, who is in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to attend a summit of leaders of the six... MORE
Andropov’s Legacy In Putin’s Foreign Policy
On June 15, Russia celebrated the 90th birthday of the late Yuri Andropov, secretary general of the Communist Party (CPSU) for 15 months and the head of the KGB for 15 years. Marking historical dates on the calendar has traditionally been a key part of... MORE
Putin’s Eurasian Opec For Gas Beginning To Emerge
Statements released on June 16-17 on behalf of Gazprom Chairman Aleksey Miller and Deputy Chairman Aleksandr Ryazanov suggest that Russia's program to monopolize the transit of Turkmen gas to Europe is proceeding on track, with apparently unreserved cooperation from Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niazov. Turkmenistan's gas... MORE
Party Of Power Mulls The Merits Of Nationalization
Are the Russian government and the Kremlin's political party pushing for a law that would give the state the power to nationalize private businesses? Earlier this month, one of United Russia's leaders, Oleg Morozov, said in an interview that his party was working on a... MORE
Russian Military Manning System Reveals Flawed Reforms
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov appears poised to gain full control over the Russian General Staff, bringing to a close his personal antagonism toward Chief of General Staff General Anatoliy Kvashnin. A proposed law on defense, which passed its second stage in the Duma last... MORE
Russia And The North Korean Nuclear Negotiations
Evidently Russia wants to intensify its role at the six-power talks on North Korea's nuclear program. But it is doing so by carving out a position at odds with Washington's stance and which only facilitates Pyongyang's nuclearization. Moscow is calling for security guarantees for North... MORE
Protests Greet Government Plan To Reform Social Benefits
On June 10, labor unions organized protests in 300 cities across Russia, the first nationwide protests since President Vladimir Putin took office in 2000. A modest crowd of 1,500 gathered in heavy rain in Moscow to protest wage arrears and the new government plan to... MORE