Despite Russia’s economic crisis, which has already imposed restrictions on military spending (see EDM, May 3), the Kremlin is trying to implement a questionable buildup in the Arctic, aimed at strengthening Russian military might. During a recent board session of the Russian Ministry of Defense,... MORE

Mass arrests of parishioners of mosques associated with the Salafist movement have become routine in Dagestan. For example, on July 15, the police cracked down on the mosque on Vengerskikh Boitsov Street, in Makhachkala, when up to 50 parishioners were detained (Newsru.com, July 15). Exactly... MORE

As Russia’s military operations continue unabated in Syria, despite an earlier order to commence withdrawing deployed forces, the conflict has certainly succeeded in changing how the Russian Armed Forces are perceived both at home and abroad. Indeed, the intervention in Syria, marking Moscow’s first experience... MORE

Ingushetia’s governor, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, recently declared: “There are no Wahhabis [Salafists] or Wahhabi mosques in Ingushetia; it is time for everyone to realize that! Those differences that we have today, we are gradually overcoming.” Even though Ingushetia is Russia’s smallest republic, it is far from... MORE

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will make his first foreign trip after the unsuccessful military coup to St. Petersburg to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on August 9. In the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt, thousands of Turkish soldiers, police officers, judges,... MORE

Migration from the North Caucasus, specifically from Chechnya, to Europe has increased this year. In the first six months of 2016, the number of migrants from Russia to Germany rose two-fold compared to the same period in 2015, and over 80 percent of those migrants... MORE

Considering the profound militarization of Russia over the past few years, one might expect the country’s Armed Forces to play an increasingly significant political role domestically, to have their own agenda and to try to achieve its implementation. However, at first glance, nothing like this... MORE

On the eve of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for the 11th Annual Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit (July 15–16), an article appeared in the Russian media entitled, “ ‘An Old Friend is Worth Two New’: It’s time for Russia to turn... MORE

The ethnic-Ukrainian share of Ukraine’s population is now greater than the ethnic-Russian share of the Russian Federation’s population—and significantly larger if one does not include Russian-occupied Crimea and Donbas in the Ukrainian estimation. Despite that, Moscow continues to try to play the ethnic card in... MORE

The operation in Syria is Russia’s first experience of expeditionary warfare—beyond what Moscow calls its “near abroad”—since Soviet forces left Afghanistan in 1989. The ongoing campaign in Syria, along with Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, have highlighted Russian military capabilities that were absent during the... MORE