Latest Articles about Russia
Moscow Promotes Ties Between Cossacks in Southern Russia and Eastern Ukraine
The Cossacks in Stavropol region are struggling with the contradictory goals of serving the Russian state and retaining their identity. The Cossacks try to argue that they have a distinct Cossack identity, but at the same time, they proclaim that their sole purpose of existence... MORE
Lack of Roads in Russian Far East Limits Moscow’s Power Projection in Pacific
The absence of roads and railways connecting the strategically positioned Kamchatka peninsula, in the Russian Far East, with the rest of the country is undermining Russian national security and reducing Moscow’s ability to project power into the Pacific region, according to Dmitry Verkhoturov. Building either... MORE
Russia Initiates ‘Out-of-Area Operation’ In Syria
As Russia’s military build-up in Syria moved forward, President Vladimir Putin addressed the 70th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and held bilateral talks with President Barack Obama. On September 30, Putin received authority from the Russian Federation Council to send his forces into... MORE
Circassians Intensify Demands to Repatriate Co-Ethnics From Syria
The killing of a Circassian pre-teen, 11-year-old Judy Mohammed Hair Maf, in Damascus on September 26 (Facebook.com, September 26), revitalized efforts of Circassians in the North Caucasus to repatriate their ethnic brethren from Syria. Circassian activist Khazrial Khanakhok held a protest in Maikop, Adygea, to... MORE
Russia Forges Ahead With New Southern Rail Bypass of Ukraine
On September 21, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree to construct a railway line allowing trains in southern Russian to bypass Ukrainian territory. The new 75-mile double-track electrified railway will replace the existing one, 16 miles of which traverses Ukraine’s war-torn Luhansk region.... MORE
Putin Swings From Ukrainian Deadlock to Syrian Quagmire
The Russian air campaign in Syria has captured so much international attention that this past Friday’s (October 2) difficult summit in Paris, involving French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin, made nearly no headlines. The... MORE
China and Russia Multiply Efforts in Global Agenda-Setting
At the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly in late September, the leaders of China and Russia condemned western unilateralism (Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, September 28; UN.org, September 28). Chinese President Xi Jinping launched his week-long U.S. visit in Seattle, calling for “an... MORE
Militants Who Fought in Syria Accused of Killing Five Hunters in Dagestan
Russia’s security services recently launched a special operation across Dagestan, the largest republic of the North Caucasus. Combined forces from the military, police and security services specifically targeted five Dagestani districts—Kurakhsky, Magaramkentsky, Suleiman-Stalsky, Tabasaransky and Khivsky. The special feature of the latest special operation is... MORE
Is Moscow Set to Target Russians Fighting Against Assad in Syria?
Russia’s involvement in the Syrian conflict on behalf of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad may take the war in the Middle East to a new level. The main concern of North Caucasians will be whether Moscow’s involvement in the conflict results in it sending military personnel... MORE
Russian Jets Bomb Syria
On September 30, the upper house of the Russia’s parliament—the Federation Council—unanimously rubberstamped a Kremlin request to use Russian troops abroad after a 15-minute closed session. President Vladimir Putin’s administration chief, Sergei Ivanov, presented the Kremlin’s request and later told reporters that Russian troops will... MORE