On March 23–24, the Public Council of the North Caucasian Federal District held a conference in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria. The primary purpose of the conference was to work out ways to prevent the spread of religion-based radicalism in the North Caucasus. Only officially approved religious leaders... MORE

The escalation of tensions between Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces along the line of contact (LOC) saw the outbreak of a five-day exchange of fire, the bloodiest since the 1994 ceasefire agreement. The latest clashes ended with a mutually agreed ceasefire on April 5. According... MORE

Russia’s Ground Forces are moving away from the brigade-based structure of the “New Look” reforms to form divisions in the western strategic direction. This involves the formation of three divisions in western Russia, with two being constituted in the Western Military District (MD) and one... MORE

Russia’s absence from the nuclear summit in Washington, DC, last week was entirely predictable and yet baffling. Moscow announced its non-participation last November, and Secretary of State John Kerry was unable, in recent lengthy talks, to persuade President Vladimir Putin to make a trip to... MORE

A concert by the Rustavi state academic Georgian folk song and dance ensemble in Vladikavkaz, the capital of North Ossetia, unexpectedly spiraled into a scandal. When news of Rustavi’s arrival in Vladikavkaz first emerged, South Ossetian activists started a campaign against the Georgian dance group’s... MORE

In the evening of March 29, two trucks from the Provisional Operative Group of the Russian Interior Ministry were blown up at the 831st kilometer marker of the Kavkaz federal highway. The attack took place near Dagestan’s Uitash airport and the village of Novy Khushet.... MORE

The Lezgin ethnic group has been divided between southern Dagestan, in Russia, and northern Azerbaijan since the breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Although the division between the Lezgins during the Soviet period was purely formal, after the demise of the Soviet... MORE

According to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, the frequency and intensity of high-level contacts between Russia and the United States “are unprecedented.” US Secretary of State John Kerry has regularly visited Moscow to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and with President Vladimir Putin.... MORE

Insurgency-related violence in the North Caucasus has substantially decreased over the past year. According to the Kavkazsky Uzel website, the number of deaths declined by 39 percent and the number of those injured were 73 percent lower in 2015 than in 2014. The number of... MORE

Many observers of the Russo-Chinese relationship continue to believe that it is merely a marriage or axis of convenience, which will only last as long as it does not damage its two players’ other rational interests. This attitude clearly embodies the distinctive belief, particularly prevalent... MORE