President Vladimir Putin’s promotion of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and Russian development of the seabed of the Arctic Ocean and adjoining parts of the Russian Federation were intended to excite and unify Russians at a difficult socio-economic time (see EDM, October 20). But things... MORE

For more than a month now, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have been fighting for the disputed territory of Karabakh and surrounding Armenian-occupied districts. Thousands of soldiers on both sides have perished, and at least hundreds of civilians have been killed and injured. But there has... MORE

Russia’s General Staff uses the annual strategic-level capstone military exercise to test a number of aspects of the Armed Forces, ranging from combat readiness, improved command and control (C2), to rehearsing different levels of conflict, including inter-state warfare (see EDM, September 23). In recent years,... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. In response to Russia’s aggressive behavior and violation of Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty starting in 2014, Western countries imposed several packages of sanctions targeting the Russian economy. These sanctions had a particularly strong impact on Russia’s most western-exposed oblast,... MORE

The imperfect congruence of ethnic and political borders in the South Caucasus is the primary cause of the long-running conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But it is also a major reason why both the participants in that fight as well as outside powers routinely focus... MORE

Chechnya and Ingushetia saw a surprise surge in clashes between government forces and rebels in recent weeks. The government side has suffered casualties for the first time in months. It is too early to say if this uptick in violence represents a lasting trend or... MORE

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate in Russia: during the past week, the high mark in daily infections moved from 15,000 to 17,500, of which about a third were registered in Moscow. The Kremlin still asserts that the situation is under control, but its... MORE

Does Turkish Withdrawal from Morek Base Signal Renewed Conflict in Idlib?  John Foulkes On October 20, Turkish forces withdrew from the Morek observation post, the country’s largest base located north of the city of Hama near the border with Syria’s northwestern Idlib province (Syrian Observatory... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. *To read Part Two, please click here. *To read Part Three, please click here. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has, in practice, achieved and maintained sovereignty in military affairs for Belarus vis-à-vis Russia (see below). These gains—for Belarus and neighboring... MORE

With the election in the United States less than three weeks away, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise strategic concession to the Donald Trump administration—apparently against the consensus opinion of Russia’s military and diplomatic bureaucracy. The Kremlin proposal looks designed to help US President... MORE