Latest Articles about Russia
Russia’s Economy Deteriorates as Putin Focuses on Squabbles Among Siloviki
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
Non-Chechen Candidates from Moscow Plans to Run for Seats Representing the North Caucasus in Upcoming Parliamentary Elections
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
Missile Defense in Korea Further Roils US-Russian Relations
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
NATO Can Refloat Romania’s Black Sea Naval Initiative (Part Three)
*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
Olympic Doping Scandal Overshadows Massive Infrastructural Overhaul of Downtown Moscow
The doping scandal, which may exclude Russian athletes from this summer’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics, is dominating the political news in Moscow at the moment. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) executive board has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban all Russian athletes... MORE
Rights Activists: Police Zeal in Prosecuting Suspected Rebels Violates Laws and Common Sense
Rights activists of Kabardino-Balkaria have challenged official estimates of the number of militants from the republic believed to be fighting in Syria. In April, Kabardino-Balkaria’s Deputy Interior Minister Kazbek Tatuev stated that 130 residents of the republic, including 28 women, were fighting in the Middle... MORE
Defense Minister Shoigu Reports on Russian Military Modernization
In the fourth year of leading the Russian Ministry of Defense, Sergei Shoigu has demonstrated a unique style of leadership, marked by routine snap inspection exercises, enhancing the image of the Armed Forces, and restoring the confidence of the officer corps, while pushing ahead with... MORE
Russia’s Western Flank: A Mighty Pillar or a Headache? (Part Two)
*To read Part One, please click here. Russia’s posture in the Baltic Sea region appears contradictory: a declarative prioritization of this flank—including by deploying Iskander theater ballistic missiles to Kaliningrad (see Part One, EDM, July 11)—is hardly compatible with the real state of affairs in... MORE
Moscow ‘Bypassing’ Armenia to Reach Azerbaijan, Iran and India
Perhaps the most important geopolitical development of mid-July 2016 was not the continuing conflict in the South China Sea, the failed coup in Turkey, or terrorist violence in France—all of which attracted considerable international attention—but rather the quiet signing, in Moscow, of an agreement by... MORE
Major Mudslide Forces Consideration of Alternative Transportation Routes Across Great Caucasus Ridge
On June 23, the Terek River flooded and destroyed part of the Georgian Military Highway (Voyenno-Gruzinskaya doroga). The highway, which connects Russia to Georgia and Armenia, was closed. The flood caused mudslides and destroyed an estimated 500–600 meters of the highway, blocking the narrow road... MORE