Latest Articles about Russia

Arrests in Turkey May Be Connected to So-Called “Berlin Group” of Russian Killers

On November 22, the Turkish authorities announced that six people had been arrested in Istanbul for involvement in the murder of Chechen refugees in the city in September 2011 (www.mk.ru/social/news/2012/11/22/777469-politsiya-stambula-zaderzhala-ubiyts-chechenskih-bezhentsev.html).On September 16, 2011, three Chechens were shot dead in Zeytinburnu, one of the busiest districts... MORE

Fighting Corruption Russian Style

The dismissal of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov by President Vladimir Putin earlier this month as a result of an investigation of corruption in the defense ministry–controlled holding company “Oboronservis” (see EDM, October 25, November 1, 8) has been followed this week by further state-sponsored disclosures... MORE

Circassians Will Not Follow Abkhaz Example, Adyge Khase Leader Says

Asker Sokht, president of the Circassian “Adyge Khase” organization of Krasnodar Krai, said this week that his nation will not seek to realize its rights by violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any country as the Abkhaz have done (www.regnum.ru/news/polit/1597324.html). Many are likely to... MORE

Russian Army Lacks Recruits, but Will Not Draft North Caucasians

On November 22, the authoritative Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta published a report on how the Russian army is becoming increasingly undermanned. According to the paper’s sources in the Russian military, the new Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was “extremely displeased” with a report by General Vasily... MORE

Putin’s Repressive Power Is Tested and Found Lacking

A capacity for unleashing targeted repressions is crucial for the survival of authoritarian regimes, and President Vladimir Putin finds it increasingly difficult to demonstrate that he has such a capacity—or that he controls it. Health problems keep him confined to his cozy residence outside Moscow,... MORE

Russia-Uzbekistan Dispute Jeopardizes Bilateral Relationship

In late June 2012, when Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially declared Tashkent’s decision to suspend its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the country’s National Communications Inspectorate published a report concerning the activities of a Russian-owned company, O’zdunorbita. Established in 1991, this mobile... MORE

Privatizing and Nationalizing Companies in Belarus

Under the presidency of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Belarus’s relationship with Russia has always been one of amity combined with duplicity. In theory, Minsk’s position is that of the weaker partner, dealing with a country that can be quite ruthless in terms of using its economic clout... MORE

North Caucasian Activists See Relations with Georgia Under Threat

After the dramatic changes in Georgia’s political leadership in October 2012, experts in the North Caucasus see signs of a decreasing Georgian presence in the politics of the North Caucasus. “The North Caucasian policy of Georgia will become more flexible, cautious and subtle,” Lachin Lachinov,... MORE