A public campaign in Stavropol region for its formal secession from the North Caucasus Federal District has stirred up major controversy. Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District, Aleksandr Khloponin, accused “instigators” from the Novaya Sila (New Power) party of meddling in the region.... MORE

On April 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller proposed building a new pipeline for Russian gas through Poland to other European Union countries in Central Europe, bypassing Ukraine (see EDM, April 5). Moscow publicized the proposal—and a corresponding offer to Poland—without... MORE

A week ago (April 2), Georgian Defense Minister Irakly Alasania said he “does not exclude the possibility” that there will be terrorist acts in the run up to the Sochi Olympics, noting that Tbilisi is doing everything it can so that Moscow will not be... MORE

Since the beginning of this year, Syrian Ossetians have been arriving in North Ossetia. Six refugees arrived in the republic at the end of January, and 12 more followed in February. The Ossetians from Syria arrived in the North Caucasus at the invitation of the... MORE

At 4 a.m. on March 28, President Vladimir Putin delivered a sealed letter to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordering him to launch at once unscheduled maneuvers involving not just the Black Sea Fleet but air and airborne forces and the Army. The exercises wound down... MORE

President Vladimir Putin recently signed into law legislation that allows Russian regions to choose their form of election for governor. They can now do it either through popular elections or through votes in their parliaments (www.kremlin.ru/acts/17786). Thus the new law permits regions to reject popular... MORE

On April 3, in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller announced a colossal series of gas projects. These involve an expansion of existing big projects or a reactivation of earlier, unimplemented proposals. Ukraine’s start of gas imports from Europe, reducing dependence on... MORE

The annual report of the Russian human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, is interesting not so much for its conclusions as for the distrust it evokes among the country’s population. Ordinary Russian citizens have a skeptical attitude toward Lukin’s activities. The law enforcement agencies, in turn,... MORE

The Russian government, the expert community in Moscow and the national economic elite are actively discussing the economic future of the nation and possible drastic financial policy changes as the economy slumps into potentially long-term stagflation, which may fundamentally destabilize the regime. The elite’s discord... MORE

On March 12, on his official visit to Moscow, Abkhazian separatist leader Alexander Ankvab met with Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill I. The sides discussed strengthening bilateral ties between Russia and Abkhazia (www.georgiatoday.ge,... MORE