Despite differing political agendas in Syria’s ongoing civil war, Russia and the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are now sending significant naval forces to Syria’s Mediterranean coastline. The eastern Mediterranean is becoming crowded, as ten countries, in addition to Russia and Turkey,... MORE

The Russian authorities have lost control over three key movements of people in the North Caucasus—from rural areas to the cities, from the North Caucasus region to Moscow and other Russian centers, and from the region to Syria and the Middle East more generally. That... MORE

On November 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared economic sanctions against Turkey. Four days earlier, the latter had downed a Russian Su-24 fighter jet near the border with Syria after it illegally entered Turkish airspace, according to both Ankara and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization... MORE

Southeast Asia is not generally seen as an area of Russia’s core vital interests. But given the priority of Moscow’s Asian pivot, it is an important area both in terms of strategic issues and economic opportunity. Nevertheless it seems that once again Moscow has missed... MORE

Moscow’s reaction to the downing of a Russian military jet over Turkey has been unusually harsh. In his address to the Russian parliament on December 3, President Vladimir Putin continued his diatribe against Turkey’s leadership. “If anybody thinks that after having committed a cowardly military... MORE

In a reversal of previous statements about Russia’s long-delayed sale of Sukhoi-35 fighter jets to China, Russian military-industrial conglomerate Rostec’s President Sergey Chemezov confirmed that the negotiation has been completed and “we have signed a contract” (Takungbao Online, November 19). Media discussions of the purchase... MORE

In early November 2015, US Secretary of State John Kerry toured all five former Soviet republics in Central Asia. It was the first such visit by a top United States diplomat to the region, long regarded by Russia as its backyard and “sphere of privileged... MORE

The statutes of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Dagestan say that all imams in the republican mosques must be appointed by the official mufti of Dagestan. In practice, this does not normally happen. The communities themselves propose the candidacies of mosque imams and ask... MORE

Kabardino-Balkarian jamaat has regained little of its strength since its leader, Amir Abdullah (Robert Zankishiev), was killed in a police operation in Nalchik on November 10 (TASS, November 10). In fact, the jamaat has suffered new, even more substantial losses. On November 22, the authorities... MORE

On November 28, the Kremlin announced the implementation of a series of economic sanctions against Turkey in response to the latter’s shooting down of a Russian Su-24 military jet that had violated Turkish airspace (Kremlin.ru, November 29). In line with Ankara’s previously announced rules of... MORE