In an October 2017 interview on Lenta.ru, a mainstream Russian online news portal, prominent historian Sergei Volkov was pointedly asked, “Why is it that neighbors and allies of Russia continue to build their state ideologies on anti-Russian rhetoric?” He responded, “That is because all these... MORE

In practical terms, Russia has not yet begun 2018—the country awakes from its traditional holiday vacation only on Tuesday (January 9). That said, Russians’ common reflection on the year past can easily be summed up with “Good riddance!” By almost any measure, 2017 was not... MORE

Since 2012, Chinese Communist Party Chairman Xi Jinping has consolidated more power than any Chinese leader since at least Deng Xiaoping. This consolidation of power has coincided with a growing cult of personality, which portrays Xi as “the right leader at the right time” for... MORE

With its “wife abandonment syndrome” (see EDM, December 5, 2016) fostered by the geopolitical reorientation of former satellites, Russia is prone to suspect latent infidelity on the part of Belarus, too. These suspicions regularly come out on Russian TV talk shows; and certain media outlets,... MORE

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) annual ministerial conference, held on December 7–8, in Vienna, exposed yet again the 57-member international organization’s incapacity to hold its own against Russia. The latter used its veto power as a member to block any and... MORE

Russia is once again focusing on Azerbaijan’s attachment to Turkey and on its “Turkification” of the minority nationalities within its borders, something one advisor to the Kremlin says is a threat to stability in the region and to the interests of Russia and Iran (Ekonomicheskiye... MORE

On December 11, President Vladimir Putin landed on the tarmac at Hmeymim—the main Russian military base in Syria—for a visit that was reported only after Putin’s jet was already safely in the air heading to Egypt. Apparently, to prevent any unauthorized leaks, journalists in the... MORE

Numerous Russian sources report that efforts are underway to produce a new and independent internet that would align Russia more closely with the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India China and South Africa) while giving Russian political authorities greater control over what they refer to as... MORE

In early December, Russian news sources reported that further development work on the Barguzin railroad combat complex (BZhRK), a train armed with a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), was being terminated. Apparently, the nuclear missile train had not been added to the State Armaments Program... MORE

The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is intensifying its efforts to promote the Kremlin’s interests and its own in the Middle East. Although the Church, either directly or as a cover for Soviet and Russian security agencies, has long been active in that... MORE