Kim Jong Un ultimately turned down Russia’s invitation to attend the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow (NKNews, April 30). To the surprise of many, he missed the opportunity to make a diplomatic debut on the world stage. His visit would have also served... MORE

On May 19, President Vladimir Putin addressed a joint meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations and the Council for Russian Language. “The preservation and development of the Russian language and all the languages of the peoples of the country are essential for the harmonization... MORE

Russia’s Muslim community has been unsettled by the recent destruction of a mosque in the northern Russian town of Novy Urengoy. Local Muslims began worshiping at the mosque in 1996, after repairing the decaying building. Maksim Shevchenko, a well-known pro-Kremlin journalist who specializes in minority... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unexplained ten-day disappearance from public view naturally drew much attention from Moscow-watchers as his regime is rumored to be in the midst of power struggles between various clans and factions. Putin’s former economic advisor, Andrei Illarionov, even suggested the possibility that... MORE

For those long-accustomed to the idea that the situation in the former Soviet space resembles that of France, where an education minister once famously claimed that he could say at any moment just which line of poetry French students across the country were studying, the... MORE

During the November 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Beijing was not only an impressive host, but also a generous financial supporter of a number of China-centered initiatives. The largest economic package during the APEC summit went to the second China-Russia mega deal of the... MORE

As more people die in eastern Ukraine in the fighting between government forces and Russia-backed rebels, Moscow seems determined to pursue its internal economic goals despite the damage already caused by the West’s sanctions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, on October 19, that his... MORE

Vostok 2014, the largest operational strategic military exercise in Russia this year, was recast by the Kremlin as its most grand-scale exercise since the Soviet era; involving upwards of 155,000 personnel. The assets and units taking part suggest that the hypothetical enemy or enemies were... MORE

The ceasefire in Donbas (eastern Ukrainian region encompassing Luhansk and Dontesk provinces) between Ukrainian and pro-Russia forces, announced on September 5, has been solidified by an additional agreement to withdraw artillery, multiple rocket launch systems (MRLS) and other heavy equipment from the front line. The... MORE

On September 19, Russia’s Armed Forces commenced the combat training year’s major highlight to which many of their activities were dedicated: staging the operational-strategic exercise Vostok 2014 in the Russian Far East. Clearly, the Kremlin and military top brass have been buoyed by the strategic... MORE