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

On July 13, in the capital city of Astana, Kazakhstan hosted a meeting of the foreign ministers of the five Caspian littoral states. The officials gathered to discuss a draft convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea and other issues related to multilateral... MORE

Many from Turkey’s North Caucasian diaspora supported President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the failed July 15 coup. At least some North Caucasians, however, have doubts about extending their support to the Turkish president. The Circassian activists are divided over how much Circassians should be involved... MORE

President Vladimir Putin is not taking a summer vacation. He has instead maintained a busy schedule of meetings with government officials and regional governors. But his grip on the steering wheel of Russia’s foreign and domestic policy is far from steady. The heavily censored Russian... MORE

On September 18, 2016, Chechnya along with the rest of Russia will vote in the elections to the Russian State Duma. Chechens will also elect the governor of their republic, where the only plausible candidate is Ramzan Kadyrov. The three alternative candidates for Chechnya’s governor... MORE

Europe is not the only theater of acute discord between Russia and the United States; nor is the alleged militarization of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) the only issue that angers Moscow in this context. Russian ire over US policy also focuses on, and... MORE

*To read Part Two, please click here. It was a summit of modest expectations and modest results for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Warsaw on July 8–9. These results are of an interim nature: building blocks for further decisions at upcoming ministerial meetings,... MORE