Belarus and Russia will stage a joint military exercise on Belarusian territory in September, allegedly to rehearse a defense against a Polish attack on the country. Controversy concerning plans for Zapad 2013 relate to the issue of whether Moscow will repeat the pattern from Zapad... MORE

On April 11, government forces launched a large-scale counter-terrorism operation in the village of Gimry in Dagestan. The area was sealed off and all residents of the village were evacuated. As the security forces fought militants from the group headed by Ibragim Gajidadaev on the... MORE

Like Neo-Nazis in other countries, Russia’s own Neo-Nazi subculture commemorates the birthday of Adolf Hitler on April 20. What is distinct, however, is the degree to which Russia’s Neo-Nazis “celebrate” with a large number of attacks against members of ethnic minorities. As this date approaches,... MORE

As part of their agreement of intent to expand the Nord Stream pipeline system into northwestern Europe (see EDM, April 11), Russian Gazprom and Dutch Nederlandse Gasunie have further agreed to cooperate on “other infrastructure projects in northwestern European countries” (Gazprom press release, April 10).... MORE

The Yarmuk jamaat in Kabardino-Balkarian and the Karachay jamaat in Karachaevo-Cherkessia are among the jamaats that cause the Russian security services the most concern. The Karachay jamaat is currently in a dormant stage due to the losses it suffered at the hands of the Russian... MORE

The Russian federal government approved a series of blueprints to develop the country’s Far Eastern regions, as well as new tax incentives. These programs included promises of unprecedented financial inflows into these remote areas.On April 4, the Russian federal government released a final decision to... MORE

Geopolitics remains the most common angle from which Belarus is looked at, not only by the analysts from Russia and the West but also by domestic commentators. A case in point is the national survey-based report by the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS), a... MORE

Over the past week, Russian government special forces have been conducting a large-scale special operation to root out militants in the Achkhoi-Martan district of Chechnya and the adjacent Sunzha district of Ingushetia. The fact that even auxiliary police forces have been participating in the special... MORE

On April 8 in Amsterdam, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte witnessed the signing of an agreement of intent to expand the Gazprom-controlled Nord Stream pipeline system into the Netherlands and potentially onward to the United Kingdom. The CEOs of Gazprom... MORE

Since last March, Russian and international human rights organizations—including such prominent ones as Memorial, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Transparency International and others—have been harassed by Russian law enforcement and tax authorities, had their premises searched all over Russia, and had documents and computer disks... MORE