Throughout its history, Russia has faced a fundamental geographic problem: the rivers on which the country relies, both during shipping seasons and in winter-time as “ice roads,” flow almost exclusively from north to south rather than east to west. No Russian government has ever succeeded... MORE

With the March 18 presidential elections fast approaching, the Russian media has been increasingly saturated with stories showcasing the purportedly unmitigated success of Russia’s military modernization. Although there is little doubt about the widely expected re-election of President Vladimir Putin, his defense team appears to... MORE

In order to secure and consolidate its control over Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in early 2014, Moscow has been building a bridge across the Kerch Strait to provide a physical link between the occupied peninsula and Russia proper. The ongoing construction of... MORE

In January, the Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development approved its annual energy assessment (balance), which shows that Georgia will not purchase any natural gas from Russia this year. Instead, 99.65 percent of the 2.689 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas Georgia will consume... MORE

About 80 Russian athletes marched in the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, last Friday (February 9), under the Olympic flag carried by a Korean volunteer. Only 168 individuals were invited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to partake... MORE

Zurab Abashidze, the Georgian prime minister’s special representative to Russia, held a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin in Prague, on January 31, within the framework of the bilateral informal dialogue launched in late 2012 (Civil Georgia, February 1). During such meetings, the... MORE

Two Russian Su-25SM attack jets were overflying the rebel-controlled Idlib province in northwestern Syria, on February 3, when one of the planes was hit by an infrared-signature- homing surface-to-air missile fired from a man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS). Russian commanders insist the jets were on a... MORE

Between January 29 and February 2, a group of experts from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) visited Moldova to assist with the drafting and implementation of the country’s key strategic documents, including the national defense and military strategies as well as related action plans.... MORE

Russia’s actions in Latin America—including a recent series of economic agreements signed with Argentina (Izvestia, January 18)—are often overlooked given that Europe, Asia, the Middle East and, of course, the United States are widely understood to be much higher foreign policy priorities for Moscow. But... MORE

The Russian government stated, on February 1, that units of the Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye Sily—VKS) are to be located on Iturup Island (southern end of the Kurile Islands chain, disputed with Japan). This deployment should be seen as a first step in a strategy aimed... MORE