*To read Part One, please click here. President Barack Obama’s administration seems to pursue two contradictory goals: support Ukraine’s sovereignty and security in general terms but, at the same time, seek a short-term compromise that might satisfy Russia in Ukraine’s east. Preoccupied with “legacy” issues... MORE

US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland completed another round of shuttle diplomacy in Kyiv and Moscow (June 22–24), following up on her visits to the two capitals in April and May, on direct instructions from the White House. This effort will undoubtedly continue after... MORE

The Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta has blasted the country’s political parties for using well-known public figures who are unlikely to make good lawmakers as front men. The United Russia party, for example, has touted several actresses; the notorious prosecutor in annexed Crimea, Natalia Poklonskaya; and... MORE

During his appearance at this year’s St. Petersburg Eco­nomic Forum (June 16–18), President Vladimir Putin declared that “Russia has managed to resolve the most urgent problems in the economy” (Kremlin.ru, June 17). But just one week later, the Russian Ministry of Economy published new figures,... MORE

Russian views of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) were prominently on display at the grouping’s most recent summit, in Tashkent, which took place on June 23–24. Specifically, President Vladimir Putin had extravagant words of praise for the SCO—a regional institution bringing together Russia, China, Kazakhstan,... MORE

For the past month, several events happened in Moscow related to the problem of radicalization of North Caucasian youth and the replenishment of the Islamic State’s ranks by residents of the Russian Federation. While Russian analysts recycle theories that were relevant a year or two... MORE

Tensions between two Russian regions, Chechnya and Ingushetia, tend to oscillate, with top officials of the two territories periodically quarreling with each other. Chechnya and Ingushetia are not simply neighbors, but ethnic cousins that speak practically the same language and share the same cultural heritage.... MORE

Reports emerged in Moscow and Ankara, on June 24, that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wrote his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a letter apparently apologizing for the loss of a Russian Su-24 bomber and the death of its pilot. The Russian jet had been shot... MORE

The fifteenth meeting of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) took place on June 23–24, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Participation in these annual meetings has been growing over the past several years and was even bigger this time as negotiations for admitting... MORE

The financial crisis in the North Caucasus is gradually intensifying, as the large debt of its republics is exacerbated by falling revenues (see EDM, June 22, 2015). Paradoxically, the economic crunch first of all affects the region’s “quiet” republics. Moscow prioritizes financial support for those... MORE