On September 24, Russia and Pakistan began their first-ever joint military exercises, “Friendship 2016.” Roughly 70 personnel from a mechanized infantry brigade based in Russia’s Southern Military District are participating in the 16-day exercise along with 130 Pakistani troops. The two countries’ Armed Forces are... MORE

News and rumors of appointments and dismissals at the top levels of the Russian government have proliferated in recent weeks. And these continue to eclipse the tragic escalation of the war in Syria as well as efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries... MORE

Against the backdrop of Western sanctions against Russia, European countries are increasingly trying to defend their cooperation with Moscow by saying it is vital for their efforts to combat international terrorism. Chechens, who are scattered across Europe, often become targets of such cooperation. The Chechen... MORE

A snap inspection in late August, involving three military districts and the Northern Fleet, as well as the subsequent strategic exercise Kavkaz 2016, held in southwestern Russia on September 5–10 (see EDM, September 8, 13, 14, 15, 20), together seem to indicate a turning point... MORE

This week (September 28), a Dutch-led group of investigators from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine published the preliminary results of their more-than-two-year investigation into the crash of flight MH17. The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down, on July 17, 2014, over territory... MORE

The military parade dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Armenian independence was held in Yerevan, on September 21, 2016. The event drew considerable attention from Azerbaijan because of the advanced military equipment demonstrated during the parade. The Armenian side showcased several offensive military systems, tanks... MORE

In the past several years, Moscow has reinvigorated its efforts to unite the plethora of Cossack organizations in southern Russia. One of the most important issues dividing various groups of Cossacks has been their affiliation with the government. Some Cossack communities belong to so-called “registered”... MORE

On July 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin relieved the governor of Kaliningrad Oblast, Nikolay Tsukanov, of his duties (Krpress.ru, July 29). Tsukanov’s temporary replacement, Major-General Evgeny Zinichev, used to head the local branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) (Rugrad.eu, July 28). Later, Kremlin spokesperson... MORE

Reportedly, the Kremlin is mulling an idea to relocate 500,000–1,000,000 people from the southern portions of the Russian Federation to the Far East and Siberia. This prospect has sparked fears among some non-Russians. Specifically, certain regional minorities, including Crimean Tatars from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian peninsula,... MORE

In recent years, there has been no shortage of bad blood between Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and the Russian Kremlin. For example, in February 2004, Lukashenka referred to the stoppage of Russian natural gas flows into Belarus, in retaliation for Belarus’s insistence on lower prices,... MORE