As the West prepares economic sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine, the head of the government-owned State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) nuclear complex, Sergei Kirienko, said that Russia’s nuclear industry contracts with other countries could be affected, observing, “Considering an array of comments... MORE

The unscheduled meeting in Paris of US Secretary of State John Kerry with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on March 30, had raised hopes in Moscow that a compromise solution to the Ukrainian crisis may be found (https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2441781). After annexing Crimea, the Kremlin... MORE

With a patriotic frenzy under way in Russia in connection with the crisis in Ukraine, annexation of Crimea and ensuing tensions with the West, ethnic minorities living in Russia are predictably coming under increased scrutiny by the state security services and Russian nationalists. As one... MORE

A Ukrainian parliamentarian has called for the United Nations to intervene and stop the looting of museums in Crimea by the Russian occupation authorities, an action that he says raises the specter of a broader effort by Moscow to change the cultural and ethnic face... MORE

The military aspect of Russia’s intervention in Crimea is coming to an end. On March 25, Vladimir Putin ordered the local “self-defense” forces to integrate into the regular Russian military and security forces (Interfax, March 25). Whereas, the Security and Defense Council of Ukraine resolved... MORE

Since late February, Russia’s Armed Forces have engaged in multiple military exercises, several snap inspections to test combat readiness, as well as an apparent “build-up” close to Ukraine’s eastern border. While President Vladimir Putin has remained largely quiet concerning these developments, senior officials, including Foreign... MORE

In March, the security services in Dagestan revived an environmentally dangerous tactical tool for fighting the regional insurgency—arson attacks on forests. Multiple media outlets and Internet social media confirmed reports of forest fires in several districts in the republic. Deforestation of the already arid republic... MORE

After the rapid sequence of actions culminating in its annexation of Crimea in mid-March, Russia has only slightly increased pressure on Ukraine during the last week. Rather, President Vladimir Putin has taken a pause of sorts in order to consolidate his perceived gains and prepare... MORE

Over three days, 11 people were killed in special operations in Dagestan. Ten of them were identified as members of the armed resistance, while the eleventh casualty was a member of the security forces. Two other servicemen were injured (https://dagestan.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/240005/).On March 23, militants attacked a... MORE

Ukraine shows that Russia’s threat assessments are cynical, mendacious, inclined toward worst-case scenarios, self-aggrandizing and self-reinforcing. They betray not just an incipient trend toward paranoia, but also hysteria about foreign threats and a tendency toward grandiosity. Recent developments in Russia’s Arctic policy show that this... MORE