On September 20, the first deputy director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Sergei Smirnov estimated that 300-400 Russian citizens are participating in the conflict in Syria. “They will come back and that, naturally, is posing a serious danger,” the Russian security official said in... MORE

Moscow’s imposition of a wine embargo against Moldova as part of the Russian effort to dissuade Chisinau from pursuing closer ties with the European Union is not working as the Russians had hoped. In fact, Moldova had been exporting only about a quarter of its... MORE

Moscow’s recent high profile diplomatic involvement in the Syria crisis resulted, in part, in some unmerited publicity for its navy due to the decision to dispatch a number of its assets to the Mediterranean Sea. The juxtaposition of the Russian Navy vis-à-vis the naval fleet... MORE

On September 17, Russian occupation forces in Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) renewed erecting fences and barbed wire in the Georgian village of Ditsi, which is located on the southern edge of the Russian-occupied Georgian region. Russians once again moved the occupation line hundreds of feet... MORE

On September 19, the Russian polling organization Politekh unveiled its report on inter-ethnic relations in Russia at the Russian Public Chamber. The report detailed a spectacular rise of ethnic nationalism among ethnic Russians and other ethnic groups. The researchers warned that polarization may have serious... MORE

Russia invariably proclaims that its response to the challenges provided by the opening up of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is purely political, diplomatic and peaceful. Yet, much of its behavior is characterized by preemptive military gestures driven by the belief, affirmed... MORE

No protest demonstration or statement from the opposition generates as much concern in the Russian capital as any suggestion that the republics and regions of the Russian Federation may be about to begin a new “parade of sovereignties” (see EDM, August 13). The term refers... MORE

Militants carried out two significant attacks in Chechnya and Ingushetia on September 16 and 17. The attacks took place in the districts that are adjacent to each other and have the same name—Sunzha. In the past, there was a single Sunzha district in Checheno-Ingushetia, but... MORE

The “Russkie” organization, which emerged out of the 2011–2012 protest movement against the ruling United Russia party and now-President Vladimir Putin, organized a rally on September 14 to protest the “distribution of Russian citizenship,” a legislative act that received its first reading in the State... MORE

Recent events around Belarus create the impression that if one assumes Belarus is a bridge between the two flanks of Europe, the traffic on that bridge is asymmetric. Serious business comes from its eastern end and nothing but reprimands and exhortations originate from the west.... MORE