In the early stages of the Russian military operation to annex Crimea, in February–March 2014, the level of surprise triggered in Kyiv and in Western capitals caused many journalists and analysts to seek ways to conceptualize Russia’s military and security power. The success and speed... MORE

Both due to the other challenges Ukraine faces and because its leaders believe a democratic and European government should not become involved in religious affairs, Ukrainian officials have avoided tackling key issues of religion. But now Moscow Patriarch Kirill has left Kyiv with little choice... MORE

Cossacks in St. Peterbsurg recently unveiled a bust of President Vladimir Putin in the guise of a Roman emperor (Gazeta.ru, May 17). The bust, made from synthetic materials, was originally designed to be two and half times larger and made from bronze. It features a... MORE

The Russian government moved against Circassian activists in late May 2015, coinciding with events marking the 151st anniversary of the end of the Russian-Circassian war. The authorities targeted two well-known leaders of the Circassian movement, Ruslan Kesh and Adnan Khuade. On May 23, police in... MORE

Russia’s deteriorating economic situation is exacerbating the various social problems in the country, and the authorities are apparently finding no other way to deal with such issues but to shut down all outlets for public debate. Last week (May 28), President Vladimir Putin expanded the... MORE

To read Part One, please click here.  Since 2007, the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces has had four different heads, with unique military backgrounds. Part One (see EDM, May 22) of this two-part series looked into the biographies of... MORE

Since the second half of the 18th century, when Catherine the Great realized that Russia would not be able to Christianize the Muslims in its conquered territories, the Russian government decided to give some autonomy to Muslims. In turn, the latter organized their lives according... MORE

Kim Jong Un ultimately turned down Russia’s invitation to attend the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow (NKNews, April 30). To the surprise of many, he missed the opportunity to make a diplomatic debut on the world stage. His visit would have also served... MORE

The specter of a spill-over of violence from Afghanistan continues to haunt Tajikistan. According to the narrative being put forward by the Russian and Tajikistani governments, the Taliban is strengthening its position in northern Afghanistan and its forces are on the verge of invading Tajikistan.... MORE

One of the most “fashionable” Islamic preachers in the North Caucasus, Nadir Medetov, has unexpectedly surfaced in the ranks of the Islamic State (IS) in the Middle East after being put under house arrest by the Russian security services for the past 6–7 months. How... MORE