The Russian Orthodox Church has reformed its organizational structures in the North Caucasus twice in the last few years alone. Thus, on March 22, 2011, Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia became part of the previously created Vladikavkaz and Makhachkala diocese (www.gazeta.ru/news/lenta/2011/03/22/n_1758529.shtml). Chechnya and Dagestan were thereby... MORE

Russia has repeatedly pledged to boost strategic security cooperation with China. In the past, both sides preferred only to make verbal statements on the matter. But now Moscow and Beijing appeared to pledge actual joint action in connection with issues of strategic security, including the... MORE

The start of 2013 was marked by a rapid deterioration of the security situation in Dagestan. The course of events in Dagestan in 2012 showed that the republican authorities not only failed to establish control over the situation in the republic, but that signs of... MORE

Last Thursday, facing a deteriorating ethnic situation in his own krai, Stavropol Governor Valery Zerenkov said that it was time to end “the policy of minimizing” such developments or ignoring them altogether. The authorities must start to report “objectively” about them, and “on the basis... MORE

Colonel General Vladimir Chirkin, the commander of the Russian ground forces, told journalists this week of Moscow’s decision to cancel the contract with the Defense Vehicles division of the Italian corporation IVECO to buy its LMV M65 light armored vehicle. The LMV M65 was produced... MORE

In 2012, Kazakhstan’s law enforcement agencies suppressed the activities of 205 missionaries representing the unregistered religious organization Tablighi Jamaat, Kazakhstani Senator Iran Amirov said. According to the Central Asian republic’s laws, the activity of any unregistered religious organization is prohibited. Therefore, Tablighi Jamaat missionaries had... MORE

In an interview with the newspaper Kommersant published on January 11, the deputy prosecutor general of Russia, Ivan Sydoruk, admitted that despite some successes in countering rebel activities in the North Caucasus, the government still faced serious challenges in the region. Sydoruk blamed the continuing... MORE

Since Transnistria elected a new “president” on December 11, 2011, Russia has been trying to tighten its controls over this province, which was carved out of Moldova and is sustained by a force of Russian troops. Over the past year, Moscow has declared its intention... MORE

In January 2013, the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported that the Tatar youth nationalist organization Azatlyk declared 2013 the year of a famous historical figure—the Mongol Khan Batyi. The Tatar nationalists hope that Khan Batyi, who was known for his devastating incursions into historical Russia and... MORE

In late November 2012, following the successful completion of an elite course for professional non-commissioned officers (NCOs) lasting two years and ten months, the first graduates emerged from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School (RVVDKU) NCO Training Center. Among the 175 graduates, 51 were sent... MORE