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Latest Articles about Far East/Siberia
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Moscow Showcases Vostok 2018: Fact, Fiction and Hyperbole
Ahead of Vostok 2018, being held on September 11–17, Russia’s senior military leadership has actively promoted the scale and importance of this strategic-level exercise, particularly referencing the first ever participation of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces in these drills (see EDM, September 5). The... MORE
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Putin Pivots From Western Pressure, but Finds Scant Solace in the East
The annual Russia-hosted Eastern Economic Forum is about to open (September 11–13) in Vladivostok, and President Vladimir Putin has arrived there to greet the leaders of China, Japan, Mongolia and South Korea. This carefully prepared ceremony should provide relief for him from the mounting tensions... MORE
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Another Russian Bridge to Nowhere—Except to Oligarchs’ Pockets
Like his Soviet predecessors, Russian President Vladimir Putin favors spending money on giant projects in order to demonstrate his and his country’s greatness to both its citizens and others. But in contrast to Soviet leaders, he has an additional reason for doing so. Such mega... MORE
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Moscow Prepares Vostok 2018 as Sino-Russian Strategic Exercise
The culmination of the combat training year in Russia’s Armed Forces results in an annual operational-strategic military exercise involving air, land and sea elements to test forces in one of four theaters: these are the rotating Kavkaz (“Caucasus”), Tsentr (“Center”), Zapad (“West”) and Vostok (“East”)... MORE
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Chinese Behavior in Siberia Sparks Local Anger Against Beijing—and Moscow
Russians have long feared that the demographic imbalance between an overpopulated China and an underpopulated Siberia and Russian Far East will eventually result in Beijing’s taking control of what is now part of the Russian Federation. And Moscow has manipulated that fear since Soviet times... MORE
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Moscow Throws Oligarchs Lifeline in Form of ‘Offshore’ Zones in Kaliningrad and Vladivostok
On April 9, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev asked his Cabinet for specific measures to alleviate the consequences of the economic sanctions the United States passed (on April 6—see EDM, April 9) against Russian companies and individuals, with metallurgy, the energy sector and the defense industry... MORE
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China Expanding in Russia’s Transbaikal—and Russian Taxpayers Are Paying for It
A new scandal is adding fuel to the fire of Russian fears about Chinese penetration of Siberia and the Russian Far East. The Russian media in those regions is reporting that in order to sell Russian agricultural products to China—something that benefits both local oligarchs... MORE
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Russian Emigration Goes ‘Wholesale’: Workers in Omsk Oblast Fleeing Economic Collapse
Many in Moscow and the West have long kept track of what might be called “retail” emigration from Russia: the flight of people who have landed in trouble with the authorities and sought asylum in the Baltic countries, Western Europe or the United States. But... MORE
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Russia Embarks on Military Buildup in the Far East
The Russian government stated, on February 1, that units of the Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye Sily—VKS) are to be located on Iturup Island (southern end of the Kurile Islands chain, disputed with Japan). This deployment should be seen as a first step in a strategy aimed... MORE
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‘Russians Are Not Fools’—Moscow Failing to Encourage Significant Migration to Far East
Since the 19th century, Russian rulers have sought to encourage Russians to move to the Far Eastern borderlands of the country in order to defend it against possible encroachments by China, Japan or even the United States. Sometimes, when people elsewhere were desperate enough, as... MORE