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Latest Articles about Russia
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Russia in Syria: Life After the Islamic State
The fall of the main Islamic State (IS) strongholds in Syria challenges Moscow to become more focused on the political process of conflict settlement. Nevertheless, recent diplomatic moves made by Moscow appear rather muddled at first glance. On the one hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin... MORE
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Declaring Victory in Syria, Putin Stands to Lose the Elusive Peace
The meeting of three presidents—Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani—in Sochi last Wednesday (November 22), was supposed to mark a triumph for Russian foreign policy. But instead, the trilateral summit sent confusing signals and left mixed feelings. A day before... MORE
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Ukraine and Russia Compete in Health Reform
The Ukrainian Rada (parliament) successfully passed health reform bills on June 5 and October 19. Spearheaded by the American-born, Ukrainian acting minister of health, Dr. Ulana Suprun, the medical reform was strongly criticized in leading Russian media outlets. However, the Kremlin’s attacks on Ukraine overshadow... MORE
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Dagestan Rocked by Unprecedented Wave of Demonstrations
One of the most dangerous times for almost any society is when new leaders decide to launch reforms. On the one hand, elites and even portions of the society that have benefited from past arrangements are certain to try to defend what they have. And... MORE
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Five Years With Russian Defense Minister Shoigu—Only Successes?
The Russian Ministry of Defense held a staff meeting on November 7, at which the focus was the fulfillment of the presidential decrees on the military from May 2012 as well as progress in the development of the Russian Armed Forces until 2020 (Mil.ru, November... MORE
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Kremlin Uses ‘Preventive Democracy’ to Reinforce Russia’s Post-Federalism (Part Two)
*To read Part One, please click here. Since the beginning of this year, 18 Russian governors have “voluntary” resigned from their positions. In their place, President Vladimir Putin appointed “temporarily acting governors.” Some of these “temporary” regional heads were subsequently elected during local gubernatorial elections,... MORE
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Kremlin Uses ‘Preventive Democracy’ to Reinforce Russia’s Post-Federalism (Part One)
Over the past year, the Russian Federation experienced two large waves of resignations of governors. In spring 2017, the heads of seven regions—Perm krai, Novgorod and Ryazan oblasts, as well as the republics of Mari El, Udmurtia, Buryatia and Karelia—lost their posts. In autumn, the... MORE
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Notion of a ‘Civic Russian Nation’ Likely to Prove as Ephemeral as the ‘Soviet People’
Over the course of the past year, the Kremlin has been pushing the notion of the existence of a “civic Russian nation” (rossiiskaya natsiiya). This idea is meant to unify the ethnically, religiously and politically divided population of the Russian Federation. However, it is likely... MORE
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Controversial Railway Project Consolidates China’s Foothold in Central Asia
On November 5, a cargo train from Kokshetau, North Kazakhstan, carrying 30 containers of wheat, arrived in the Turkish harbor city of Mersin, on the Mediterranean coast. What made this event so notable was that this was the first train from Kazakhstan to use the... MORE
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Russia Tacitly Entices Uzbekistan With Benefits of EEU, CSTO Membership
Since President Shavkat Mirziyaev’s state visit to Moscow in April 2017, bilateral relations between his country of Uzbekistan and Russia have been steadily expanding. And the frequency of subsequent bilateral exchanges suggests that this trend will most likely continue with the full support of both... MORE