Latest Articles about Russia
Ukraine’s Constitutional Reform Precludes Federalization or Special Status for Donetsk-Luhansk
On July 1, President Petro Poroshenko made public the draft amendments to Ukraine’s Constitution, regarding decentralization of the country’s administrative-territorial system (Kyiv Post, July 1). The amendments redefine the relationship between Ukraine’s central government and the administrative-territorial units on three levels (province, district, community), devolving... MORE
In the Face of Recent Russian-Abkhaz Disagreements, is Georgian-Abkhaz Dialogue Possible?
In the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Abkhazia, the last couple weeks of June 2015 were dominated by news of an unusual spat between the typically submissive Abkhazian separatists, on the one hand, and their Russian patrons, on the other. The disagreement between the two sides... MORE
Divisions Between Caucasus Emirate and Islamic State Militants Have No Impact on the Ground
The Caucasus Emirate (CE) is refusing to exit the political arena of the North Caucasus. After all the well-known amirs of the North Caucasus jamaats pledged allegiance to the Islamic State’s (IS) so-called caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (see EDM, June 26), one would have expected... MORE
Donetsk, Luhansk ‘People’s Republics’ Announce Local Elections Outside the Minsk Process
The “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk (“DPR, LPR”) have announced their intentions to stage local elections, outside Ukraine’s constitutional and legal framework, on their respective territories. This move continues the hollowing out of the September 2014 Minsk agreement by decisions of Moscow, Donetsk and... MORE
Extended List of ‘Undesirable’ Foreign NGOs Compiled in Moscow
A law banning foreign and international non-governmental organizations (NGO) as “undesirable” in Russia was approved by both houses of parliament and signed by President Vladimir Putin last May. A specific list of “undesirables” is currently being prepared in Moscow, and it may include The Jamestown... MORE
Elections, Identity and Economic Decline in Belarus
The Belarusian parliament endorsed a new date for the upcoming presidential elections: October 11. It is unlikely that shifting elections from November (as originally planned) to October will make a difference either in terms of negative trends in the economy or in terms of the... MORE
International Circassian Association’s Closeness to Moscow Backfires
On June 22, the vice president of the International Circassian Association (ICA), Adam Bogus, announced that he was suspending his membership in the organization until its next leadership elections. Bogus, who is from Adygea, also refused to take part in an ICA conference that was... MORE
Tatarstani Cossacks Enter Government Service
Although not commonly associated with the Cossacks, the city of Kazan (in the ethnic republic of Tatarstan, historically a Muslim region) played host, in mid-June, to a meeting of the regional coordination center for Cossack revival. The meeting was attended by the Cossack Party of... MORE
The Protests and Energy Interdependence in Armenia: View From Baku
The protests in Yerevan against rising electricity prices have sparked a debate over the motives, expectations, and impact of this public outcry (see EDM, June 27). Energy shortfalls and crises have long been a sensitive subject for Armenia due to the painful experiences of energy... MORE
Moscow’s Territorial Division of Central Asia in 1920s ‘Artificial,’ Tajik Historian Says
The Bolshevik government achieved two goals by dividing up the territory of Central Asia into various national republics—it undermined the Pan-Turkic aspirations of the jadids, and it helped break the anti-Soviet basmachi movement by refocusing the attention of the local population on national construction, according... MORE