The international context of negotiations to implement the Minsk armistice is changing in Russia’s favor. As the leading Western power, the Barack Obama administration effectively pressures Ukraine to legitimize the Donetsk-Luhansk authorities in the constitution and through elections. This would satisfy Russia’s main demands at... MORE

Chechnya, formally a Russian province, has found a place for itself in relations between Moscow and Riyadh. Indeed, in general, subnational units of the Russian Federation, in particular the Muslim regions, have become much more active in the Middle East. Chechnya’s governor, Ramzan Kadyrov, has... MORE

Sometimes a story appears that seemingly makes no sense and cries out for an explanation. The following story is one of those cases: On July 15, RIA Novosti reported that Russia will trade $160 million worth of military hardware for Thai rubber, fruit and vegetables.... MORE

Urged by US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland in Kyiv last week, Ukraine took a first step toward legalizing the secessionist authorities in the country’s constitution (see EDM, July 20). Concurrently, US Vice President Joseph Biden asked Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to accept local... MORE

Russian news agencies reported that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chechnya’s governor, Ramzan Kadyrov, expressed their condolences to the leadership of Iraq for the terrorist attack in Khan Bani Saad, Diyala Governorate. Terrorists detonated a car laden with explosives in the city, killing more... MORE

As Russo-Western relations go from bad to worse, the Kremlin has been developing strategic ties with Asia. In a recent three-part policy manifesto, President Vladimir Putin’s adviser Sergei Glazyev declared that the United States is determined to destroy Russia and provoke a large-scale war in... MORE

Circassian activists plan to resume the work of the Extraordinary Conference of Circassian People in Karachaevo-Cherkessia this coming autumn. The plans were discussed at a meeting of the Circassian organization “Adyghe Khase–Circassian Parliament,” which took place in the city of Cherkessk, on July 8. According... MORE

Evidence has emerged in Russia’s Southern Military District (MD) that the conflict in Ukraine is not popular among Russian contract personnel (kontraktniki). Reportedly “dozens” of kontraktniki have absconded from or deserted their units on grounds of their opposition to being sent to fight in Donbas.... MORE

On July 10, the Russian occupation forces in the separatist territory of South Ossetia (Tskhinvali region) moved the occupation line deeper into Georgia, thus effectively slicing off additional lands in the Georgian villages of Tsitelubani and Orchosani. Russian troops erected new signs, marking what they... MORE

The puppet government of Crimea has unexpectedly clashed with its bosses in Moscow. On July 7, Crimea’s governor, Sergey Aksyonov, declared he would not allow the Russian federal government to force its own rules on the peninsula. His comments came after Russia’s Federal Security Service... MORE