Electronic Warfare (Radioelektronnaya Borba—EW) capability is playing an increasingly prominent role in Russia’s efforts to adopt and integrate Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capacity in order to offer effective means to counter a high-technology adversary. EW has therefore featured in Russia’s... MORE

Vladimir Putin first became Russian president in 2000—appointed by then–head of state Boris Yeltsin to succeed him. Last March, Putin was reelected in a landslide—winning over 76 percent of the popular vote (Interfax, March 19). On May 7, he was inaugurated for six more years... MORE

The former Soviet Union accounts for at least one-third of the total death toll of over 60 million in World War II. Thus, particularly for the numerous families who lost their loved ones in that colossal conflict, Victory Day (marked on May 9, based on... MORE

Syria intercepted 71 of 103 cruise missiles fired by the United States and its allies on April 14, the head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate, Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi, claimed during his briefing that day (TASS, April 14). The implication was that... MORE

In the past two months, the Russian government twice warned Latvian authorities that it was planning to conduct missile tests over Latvia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Baltic Sea. Yet, in both cases (April 4–6 and April 17–19), Russia never actually shot off any... MORE

Sudden Russian interest in the resource-rich Central African Republic (CAR—the former French colony of Oubangui-Chari) has raised questions regarding Moscow’s intentions in the violence-plagued nation (see EDM, April 30). As much as 80 percent of the CAR is not under government control. A new burst... MORE

Since the announcement of looming inter-Korean and United States–North Korean summits, regional powers China, Japan and Russia have all striven mightily not to be excluded or marginalized from those processes. All thee governments are doing what they can to support the summits. On one hand,... MORE

President Vladimir Putin planned his fourth inauguration, held on May 7, to perfection. Like each Russian presidential inauguration since his first, it was timed to come just a few days prior to the traditional military parade on Victory Day (May 9). His hope was probably... MORE

Vladimir Putin started his fourth term as Russia’s president by promising ambitious new social programs (Kremlin.ru, May 7). He may be able to deliver on these promises because the price of petroleum, one of the mainstays of Russia’s state budget, has risen steadily. A barrel... MORE

The so-called “Velvet Revolution” in Armenia (see EDM, April 23, May 3) is highly unlikely to shift the country’s orientation away from Moscow in the near term, particularly given the country’s geopolitical position. And yet, the recent Armenian events may have an even greater impact... MORE