Nearly 10,000 Chechens have sought political asylum in Germany since the start of 2013, an unprecedented number that is nearly six times as great as the flow a year earlier—and greater than the number of Afghans and Syrians doing so in the course of the... MORE

On July 12, during a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Army-General Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s commander-in-chief ordered a “surprise inspection” of combat forces in the country’s Far East. In the early hours of July 13, according to the defense ministry website, a “snap... MORE

Ukraine is preparing to take part in air defense exercises with Russia and Belarus and a multilateral air force exercise in Kazakhstan, all to be held by November 2013 (https://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/200/2013). Minsk and Astana are key Russian allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and... MORE

Russia’s Ministry of Energy and Gazprom want the European Commission to exempt the biggest pipelines in Germany, OPAL and NEL, from the European Union’s energy market legislation. OPAL and NEL are Gazprom’s joint ventures with Wintershall in Germany. The EU’s Third Legislative Package requires vertically... MORE

Experts have warned that the Dagestani authorities are opting for more heavy-handed measures in their efforts to resolve security issues in the republic in contrast to the previous republican leadership. On July 16, a roundtable on the remaking of Dagestani politics after the appointment of... MORE

A hot and lazy summer in Moscow has turned into a feverish political season last week by the torrent of breaking news—all of them created by Alexei Navalny, who has grown to a towering political figure that scares President Vladimir Putin’s subordinates and leaves far... MORE

Reverberations from the military operation in the Dagestani town of Semender in March have been felt throughout the republic, attracting attention to this small suburban town near the republican capital of Makhachkala. From March 20-27, government forces clashed with militants who were blockaded in a house.... MORE

The visit of Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbaev to Uzbekistan on June 14, 2013, and the positive rhetoric accompanying the outcome of this visit—the two countries’ leaders signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement—highlighted the two Central Asia republics’ deepening cooperation (see EDM, June 19). This visit was... MORE

The Russian media have reported that in June alone, more than 20 people were killed and wounded in the North Caucasus (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/226418/). Against the backdrop of such news, government official made a sensational statement about Russia’s ability to cope with the terrorist threat in the... MORE

Edward Snowden, the contractor who worked as a systems administrator at a US National Security Agency (NSA) facility in Hawaii, arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on June 23, apparently planning to fly to Havana the next day, but has stayed in limbo in Russia—officially... MORE