Military preparations for an offensive on the rebel-controlled Syrian province of Idlib are complete, air strikes have already commenced, and the Russian diplomatic dance around Syria’s war zone is moving into its final phase. Yet, the costs of the devastating victory might turn out to... MORE

Since the Kremlin deployed “Cossacks” to disperse an anti-government demonstration in early May (see EDM, May 17), the Russian government has pumped enormous sums of money into this pseudo-movement, giving it increasingly sordid tasks, and playing up its support for the regime via state-controlled media.... MORE

On August 8, 2008, the simmering confrontation with constant shooting and shelling between Georgian government forces and Ossetian separatists armed, financed and supported by Russia suddenly turned into an all-out Russo-Georgian war. As detailed in the 2009 study The Guns of August 2008: Russia’s War... MORE

The victory of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in the summer of 1979, made Nicaragua an essential element of the Soviet Union’s zero-sum competition against the United States in the so-called “Third World.” By the mid-1980s, annual Soviet aid to the Latin American country... MORE

The hopes of China and some Central Asian countries for the construction of a new canal between the Caspian and the Black Sea have sparked serious ethnic and environmental opposition even before the first spade of ground is turned. The project has its roots in... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here.   United States President Donald Trump’s behavior at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) recent summit in Brussels (July 11–12) and in its aftermath has cast a shadow on this landmark event. Trump’s follow-up actions, including the meeting... MORE

Macedonian nationalist groups, led by the small, pro-Russian political party United Macedonia, have announced a campaign to boycott the September referendum on changing the country’s name to the Republic of Northern Macedonia. On August 5, a coalition of 28 minor right-wing political parties, civic associations... MORE

The Russian Airborne Troops (Vozdushno-Desantnye Voyska—VDV) and Military Transport Aviation (Voyenno-Transportnoy Aviatsii—VTA) carried out a comprehensive exercise in the Ryazan area, on July 9–13. Participation by the VTA was unprecedented, while the drill, in and of itself, showcased some interesting and novel features, including the... MORE

In the first week of August 2008, escalating tensions between Georgia and Russia exploded in a messy battle for Tskhinvali, South Ossetia. The resulting “Five Day War” culminated in the advance of Russian tanks to the suburbs of Tbilisi. A ceasefire was negotiated by then-president... MORE

On August 10, 2015, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department implemented an executive order sanctioning three Russian citizens involved in terrorist activities. Among the individuals mentioned on the sanctions list was North Caucasian militant Abu-Jihad, one of the key Russian-speaking... MORE