Latest Articles about Russia

Russian ICBMs: An Aging but Mixed Arsenal

Undeniably, Russia has fewer deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) today than the Soviet Union fielded during the Cold War (at its peak, in 1985, it had 1,398 such missiles at its disposal). However, the exact number and condition of Moscow’s current ICBMs varies according to... MORE

Russian Far East Ill-Prepared for War in Korea, Expert Says

Instead of preparing for a military conflict on the Korean peninsula, Russian officials and the media dependent on them are urging residents of the Russian Far East to focus on attracting foreign investment and spending leisure time rather than taking the steps needed to prepare... MORE

Hyper-Centralization of Russia Threatens Its Development and Survival

Vladimir Putin’s centralization of power in Moscow over the last 18 years reflects his belief, and that of many others’, that the disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)—which he has termed “the largest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century” (Kremlin.ru, April 25,... MORE

Is Kaliningrad on the Brink of Inter-Ethnic Conflict?

Rather unexpectedly, Kaliningrad oblast—Russia’s westernmost, physically detached region on the Baltic coast—experienced a surge in inter-ethnic tensions arising from discrimination directed at the local Islamic community. On September 19, a Kaliningrad court opened a legal case initiated by the local Muslim community, which is suing... MORE

Kazakhstan Faces Three Kinds of Separatist Threats

More than any other non-Russian country in the post-Soviet space, Kazakhstan now faces separatist challenges that were structured into it by Joseph Stalin in the 1920s and 1930s, when he included large and predominantly ethnic-Russian-populated regions in the north within the republic’s borders. The Soviet... MORE

Russia’s Military Explores Way out of Syria

Following recent Russian media coverage of the success of the Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno Kosmicheskikh Sil—VKS) in their operations in Syria, there are renewed indications that Moscow is seeking some kind of exit strategy. Despite earlier reports of a Russian withdrawal from Syria, which merely provided... MORE