Latest Articles about Russia
Developments in Ukraine Will Likely Force Tajikistan Closer to Moscow
During a March 8 meeting in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Tajikistani Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov drew comparisons between the EuroMaidan protests and Tajikistan’s bloody civil war (Ozodagon, March 8). The comments closely mirrored those given four days earlier by Igor Lyakin-Frolov, Russia’s... MORE
Chechnya’s Ramzan Kadyrov Promises to Invest in Crimea Despite his Financial Dependence on Moscow
Shortly after the swift proclamation of Crimea’s short-lived independence, Ramzan Kadyrov announced that Chechnya would invest in Crimea and build close ties with it. However, Kadyrov’s notorious reputation is more likely to repel the residents of Crimea than win them over. On March 16, as... MORE
Moscow Threatens Ukraine From the West
Following the Russian Anschluss of Crimea, most Ukrainian, Russian and Western commentary has focused on the possibility that Moscow will use a similar strategy to move into the predominantly ethnic-Russian areas of eastern Ukraine. That is still an all too real possibility— especially if, after... MORE
Putin’s Crimea Speech: A Manifesto of Greater-Russia Irredentism
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech on the incorporation of Crimea into Russia (kremlin.ru, March 18; see EDM, March 19) aimed far beyond Crimea in scope and ambition. Explicitly, Putin called into question the legitimacy of the Ukrainian state. Implicitly, he laid a basis for challenging... MORE
NATO-Russia Relations Post-Crimea
Since the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia’s complex relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has experienced high hopes, drift and intermittent crises. Following the Five-Day War between Georgia and Russia in August 2008, NATO suspended... MORE
Russian Authorities Step up Efforts to Disrupt North Caucasus Insurgency’s Financing
On March 19, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev held a government meeting in Grozny, Chechnya. Two primary issues were discussed—disrupting the financial channels that feed the insurgents in the North Caucasus and developing additional measures to prevent extremist outbursts in the Russian Federation and,... MORE
With Crimea Secure, Russia’s Focus Shifts to Ukrainian Mainland
The last remnants of the Ukrainian military have been unceremoniously pushed out of Crimea by Russian forces, who are no longer posing as unidentified local self-defense militias. Some Ukrainian servicemen have been detained while a marines’ base in Feodosia was captured on March 24; shots... MORE
Hot Issue: Iran and the Looming U.S.-Russian Cold War
Executive Summary As the Western world is drawn in by the recent events in the Crimea, nations on the periphery are seeing a chance to use the widening gulf between Russia and the United States/EU to further their own aims. A debate has already begun... MORE
North Caucasus Militants Announce New Leader to Replace Umarov
After seven months without any communication from the Caucasus Emirate’s emir, Doku Umarov, the leadership of the North Caucasian rebels’ velayats on March 18 officially admitted the death of their leader (https://kavkazcenter.com/russ/content/2014/03/18/103603.shtml).The North Caucasian jihadists also announced their new leader—Abu Muhammad, who was the Caucasus... MORE
Crimean Tatars Fear for Their Safety After Crimea’s Annexation to Russia
On March 21, 2014, three days after he signed the treaty that “legalized” the annexation of Crimea as a new subject of the Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin officially annexed Crimea. The March 18 treaty was co-signed by the speaker of the Crimean Parliament, Vladimir... MORE