
Latest Articles about Russia

New Pro-Russian, Radical Separatist Leader Takes Power in Breakaway Abkhazia
On August 24, the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Abkhazia held early presidential elections. Opposition leader Raul Khajimba, who helped to unseat the former “president,” Alexander Ankvab, following the May–June 2014 popular protests (see EDM, June 12), narrowly won with 50.57 percent of the total votes... MORE

Growing Evidence Suggests Moscow Is Driver of Political Terror in North Caucasus
On August 16, Rasul Gamzatov, the deputy mufti of North Ossetia and the imam of the Vladikavkaz mosque, was shot dead at the entrance of his apartment building. The murder, which took place shortly before midnight, was carried out by two unidentified young men who... MORE

Assaulting Ukraine, Putin Dares the West to Respond
The summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that opens in the Welsh Celtic Manor resort tomorrow (September 4) will feature the Ukraine crisis as an agenda item of top priority and extreme urgency. Only a week ago, this crisis appeared manageable as Russian... MORE

Ossetian Politicians Reap Political Benefits from Moscow for Backing Ukraine Conflict
On August 18, the Ekho Kavkaza news service published an interview with two Ossetian militants who are fighting on the Russian side in Ukraine. The militants preferred to be identified by their nicknames—Mamai and Volk (Wolf). They were interviewed at a café on the mountain... MORE

Kremlin Said to Be Developing Plan for Partitioning Georgia
Since the start of this year, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has invaded Ukraine, annexed Crimea and pushed for Ukraine’s “federalization.” The severe international concern caused by these actions was further compounded last month (August 2014) by Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s statement in Yalta that after Moscow subdues Ukraine,... MORE

Putin’s War for Novorossiya
After recent successes by Russia-backed rebel forces in southeastern Ukraine, increased reports of Russian regular troops involved in the conflict, and belligerent statements by the Russian leadership, speculation mounts in Moscow as to the nature of the Kremlin’s “war aims.” Some clues as to Moscow’s... MORE

Russian Leadership Still Thinks It Can Defeat North Caucasus Insurgency by Building Ski Resorts
Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov, who is also chairman of the Russian National Antiterrorist Committee (NAK) and has chaired the Council of Heads of Security Agencies of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries since 2008, has made another triumphant statement. He declared... MORE

Luhansk: The Other ‘People’s Republic’ in Eastern Ukraine
The secessionist “Luhansk People’s Republic’s” (LPR) leadership is experiencing even greater turmoil, compared with that of the adjacent “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DPR) in Ukraine’s east. On August 14 the “head (glava) of the republic,” Valery Bolotov, returned to Luhansk after a Moscow visit and announced... MORE

Strelkov/Girkin Demoted, Transnistrian Siloviki Strengthened in ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’
On August 14–15, the “Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) government” and its military command underwent another recasting—the second within one week, while Ukrainian forces tighten the ring around the city of Donetsk. Colonel Igor Strelkov/Girkin, a hero to Russia’s nationalist public, has now been stripped of... MORE

Violence in Dagestan Shows No Sign of Diminishing
With the approach of the 15th anniversary of the Islamic militants’ incursion into Dagestan in 1999, it appears that the militants have only grown stronger since then, and their activities have become a daily routine in the republic. August in Dagestan began with a bombing... MORE