Latest Articles about Russia
Police in Stavropol Push Muslims Toward Radicalism
Russia is an extremely diverse country, but unlike in the United States, legislation is uniform across its entire territory. In the Russian Federation, the distinct features of regions and ethnic differences are often ignored. Nevertheless, Moscow treats different regions quite differently in terms of its... MORE
Russia Forces Crimea to Switch From Hryvna to Ruble Ahead of Schedule
Amongst the many complexities of integrating Crimea into Russia, problems regarding the currency and the scheduling of local elections remain at the top. On May 14, the lower house of the Russian parliament (the State Duma) adopted a resolution officially scheduling the local legislative elections... MORE
Hot Issue: After Crimea: The Future of the Black Sea Fleet
Executive Summary Russia’s March 17 annexation of Crimea capped nearly two decades of increasingly fractious Russian-Ukrainian relations, punctuated by rising tensions over Russia’s lease of Sevastopol and natural gas transit and cost issues. The election of the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych as president in March 2010... MORE
Western Sanctions Against Russia Impact Major Projects and Contracts
Western sanctions against Russia may not appear as strong or as sweeping as many expected, but their targeted effect is becoming visible in major Russian industries and critical ongoing projects, such as the South Stream gas pipeline, Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, and the... MORE
Possible Window of Opportunity for Diplomacy in the Ukrainian Crisis
The Russian military seems to have begun a genuine pullback of combat forces, which had been poised for almost three months on the eastern borders of Ukraine. On May 19, President Vladimir Putin flew to Shanghai to oversee the signing of a grandiose agreement to... MORE
Kazakhstan Nervously Contemplates Possible Impact of Sanctions Against Russia
As the United States and the European Union continue to further step up sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea and its subsequent fractious relations with Ukraine (ITAR-TASS, May 21), government officials in neighboring Kazakhstan are increasingly anxious about the potential impact these sanctions... MORE
Russian Activists Complain About the Tatarization of Tatarstan
The World Forum of Tatar Youth recently staged a game called “Tatar Watch” in Kazan, the capital of the Russian Middle Volga republic of Tatarstan. The “Tatar patrols,” as they called themselves, went around the city in groups of seven people, wearing T-shirts that said... MORE
Moscow to Send Draftees From Crimea to Russian Far East, and Ukrainian Turncoats to the North Caucasus
The Russian government, like its Soviet predecessor, has a long history of sending draftees to places far from their homes and using non-Russians as cannon fodder in conflicts of one kind or another. But rarely has the cynicism behind such policies been so evident or... MORE
Russian Military Technology Post-Crimea
Russian military operations in Crimea have increased the prestige of serving in the Armed Forces, which has been a welcome boost to Moscow’s on-going efforts to recruit larger numbers of contract personnel. This drive to strengthen military manpower is accompanied by considerations of the technological... MORE
Russian Authorities’ Mild Reaction to Killing of a Circassian Sparks Protests
On May 13, a 25-year-old Circassian, Timur Ashinov, died in the hospital in the city of Adygeisk in the Republic of Adygea. Ashinov and a fellow Circassian were attacked by a mob at a pizzeria in the nearby city of Krasnodar in Krasnodar region on... MORE