
Latest Articles about Russia

Inadequate Professionalism in the Police Forces Remains a Problem for the Russian State
New recruits to the Russian police will soon undergo mandatory polygraph tests in order to gain admission to the force. The requirement, introduced in June 2012 as part of a comprehensive reform of the police, will now be introduced in practice (https://izvestia.ru/news/528950). The Russian Ministry... MORE

Belarus-Russia Integration Is Given a Boost
While Minsk has been recently trying its best to revive its relationships with the West (see EDM, February 13), reciprocal steps have not yet been undertaken by the Western countries and international structures. On the contrary, on February 8, the EU proposed that Belarus’s human... MORE

Croatian Government Invites Expansion of Russian Energy Companies (Part One)
Croatia is expected to join the European Union as a full member in July of this year. In the energy sector, however, Croatia’s center-left government is marking the EU accession in its own ways: First, by joining Gazprom’s South Stream pipeline project, in breach of... MORE

US, Chinese Plans for Rail Links with Central Asia Triggering ‘Railroad War’ and Reducing Russia’s Influence
United States plans to link the countries of Central Asia by new rail lines with Afghanistan. At the same time, Washington opposes neither the construction of a railway corridor from Central Asia through Iran, nor Chinese extensions of its national rail system into the area.... MORE

Kondratyev, Network-Centric Warfare and the Race Against Time (Part One)
Colonel-General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff, recently addressed a military security conference in Moscow organized jointly by the relevant committees in the Duma and Federation Council with support from the project “Science XXI Research on the Promotion of Security.” Not surprisingly, Gerasimov... MORE

Putin Cuts Conscript Soldiers’ Combat Training Time to Three Months
On February 12, a Russian presidential decree came into force that permits sending conscript soldiers to combat zones after a mere three months of training plus one month of regular service. The decree was not published on the Russian president’s official website, but instead was... MORE

Disarray Among Putin’s Elites Deepens as Russia’s Self-Isolation Progresses
The meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk in the early hours of February 15, as damaging as it was, produced even more jokes than material destruction. One of those was about the State Duma urgently approving legislation banning the incursions of celestial bodies because of their... MORE

With Eye to Sochi, Interior Ministry Foresees Reductions in the North Caucasus
In January, government forces killed 26 militants in the North Caucasus Federal District. Eight of those killed were referred to as leaders of the illegal armed groups. In the same period, 101 police operations were carried out in the district. Russia’s law enforcement agencies noted... MORE

Russia Aims to Extend Alliance with Venezuela
Hugo Chavez’s reported life-threatening illness has repercussions beyond Venezuela and even Latin America. The prospect of a potential change in Venezuela’s leadership has led Russia to seek to ensure its strong position in Venezuela and its availability as a base for Russian activity throughout Latin... MORE

Shared Threat Perceptions Begin Renewal of Sino-Russian Arms Trade
Despite the fulsome exchanges between Russia and China concerning their bilateral relationship, Sino-Russian military ties have, in recent years, been quite volatile. It now appears, however, that those ties are once again moving forward, largely due to shared perceptions of a U.S. threat. One key... MORE