The Russian Federation’s North Caucasus republics are now being directly affected by the double crisis connected to the spread of COVID-19 and the slump in global oil prices. The individual republics are facing both crises in profoundly diverse social and economic conditions, however. Most of... MORE

The government of the Russian Federation, like the authorities in most other countries, proved slow to respond and initially mostly downplayed the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic. But as cases of COVID-19 have begun to soar in the densely populated parts of the country,... MORE

Russia has been invaded once again. But this time, the intruder is the novel coronavirus responsible for the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has already resulted in the deaths of 361 Russians, as of April 19 (StopKoronavirus.rf, April 19). As in past invasions, the country’s Armed... MORE

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has changed Russians more fundamentally than any past revolution. In particular, the government’s response and the changes in day-to-day life for the average Russian has destroyed traditional widespread faith in society that Russia’s authorities are omnipotent while the people lack political... MORE

The COVID-19 coronavirus has dealt the Russian crude oil industry a two-pronged blow: first, decimating global demand, and now, disrupting output by infecting hundreds of oil-field workers. It has similarly hit natural gas–production operations, another Russian economic mainstay. The blame rests squarely with the Russian... MORE

After a delayed start, Russia is now being hit by the COVID-19 outbreak with devastating force; yet, it has only praise for China’s policy of containing the disease, despite the obvious fact that this containment failed to prevent a local outbreak in Wuhan from becoming... MORE

For as long as official cases of COVID-19 have remained manageable inside the Russian Federation, Moscow was able to exploit the global coronavirus pandemic to try to pursue various foreign policy goals (see EDM, April 13). This activism, combined with most international governments’ strong preoccupation... MORE

Russia’s enormous size and central continental location—coupled with the inherent problems associated with Russian road, water and air networks (see EDM, October 6, 2015, September 17, 2019, April 2, 2020)—have meant that the country has traditionally devoted much more attention to its railways than most... MORE

The anniversary celebrations of victory over Nazi Germany in May 1945, which ended World War II in Europe, have become the main yearly public relations event in President Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Annual May 9 military parades began in 1995, when then-president Boris Yeltsin used the... MORE

On April 3, Russian news agencies reported that the country's security services killed one and detained another member of an Islamic State (IS) cell in Stavropol Oblast. Russian officials alleged that members of the extremist group were preparing terrorist attacks in Stavropol as well as... MORE