Latest Articles about Russia
Independent Russian Analysts Argue Moscow Secretly Cooperating With the Islamic State
In seeking to extract benefits from a disaster, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly been willing to actually manufacture such disasters so that their time, place and nature give him maximum advantage for action. Indeed, he has repeatedly demonstrated this tendency since 1999, when the... MORE
Moscow Pursues Enhanced Precision-Strike Capability
Moscow’s defense establishment annually reflects on achievements in modernizing and enhancing combat capability and readiness levels in the Russian Armed Forces. Late last year (December 22, 2016), Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu offered such detail with an upbeat message on the Russian military’s operations and exercises... MORE
Putin’s Dirty Diplomacy Fails to Breach Sanctions Wall
Russia is frequently in the news these days, but its diplomatic successes at the start of the new year have been rather limited. Denials of Moscow’s various misbehaviors aside, the most significant step over the just-concluded extended holiday season was President Vladimir Putin’s visit to... MORE
The Amir of Tatarstan’s Right-Hand Man: A Look at Marat Sabirov
On October 20, 2016, the Volga District Military court began the trial of nine members of Chistopol Jamaat (Чистопольский джамаат), an Islamist extremist organization charged with carrying out a string of terrorist attacks that took place in Tatarstan, Russia in 2013. Among those on trial... MORE
Russia’s New Information Security Doctrine: Fencing Russia from the “Outside World”?
On December 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the new Information Security Doctrine (Pravo.gov.ru, December 6), replacing the old one that was adopted in 2000, at the start of his first mandate. Despite its seemingly democratic attire and references to Russia’s need to “protect the... MORE
Russian Mission in Syria Beset by Problems Despite Victory in Aleppo
The sudden recapture by Islamic State (IS) of the Syrian desert town of Palmyra has caused embarrassment and recriminations in Moscow at a time when the Russian strategy in Syria seemed to be working to plan and victory was close at hand. Opposition rebel forces... MORE
North Caucasian Insurgency Experiences Setbacks but Conditions for Political Violence Persist
On December 4, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the killing of Rustam Asilderov (a.k.a. amir Abu Muhammad Kadarsky) in Makhachkala, Dagestan. Government forces killed Asilderov along with four other insurgents in the Dagestani capital’s suburb of Talgi. Asilderov, 35, was the leader of... MORE
The Rocky Road to Russo-Japanese Peace
On December 15–16, Vladimir Putin will travel to Japan for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. This summit will represent the culminating effort to date of a four-year endeavor to negotiate a Russo-Japanese peace treaty, formally terminating their belligerence during the closing days... MORE
Russia Consolidates Military Control in Abkhazia as Georgia’s Ruling Party Further Eases Its Resistance
On November 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into a law an agreement between the Russian Federation and Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia on establishing a new joint military force (NG.ru, November 21). The Russian Duma ratified the agreement in early November, almost one year... MORE
Soviet Breakup and the Ongoing Fight for Belarusian Identity
December 8 marked the 25th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The document that did away with the USSR was signed by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus in Viskuli, at a hunting lodge belonging to the Communist Party leaders, in the... MORE