Russia’s Primorie region in the country’s Far East moved to finalize the construction of high-profile projects, designed to prepare for the upcoming APEC summit meeting next month in Vladivostok. However, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s recent visit there has only served to underline the continued problems... MORE

In September, the Russian Armed Forces will stage a major exercise in the country’s Southern Military District (MD) aimed at testing aspects of the ongoing reform of the conventional elements of its military, including the new commands, integrated operations, and digitized command and control (C2).... MORE

The Council of the Russian People organization attacked Circassian historians and activists in its online publication on June 26. The anonymous article alleged that Circassian activists and public figures harbor separatist and anti-Russian sentiments, and that the regional government supports these aspirations. According to the... MORE

There is no August lull in Russian politics this year, and the atmosphere in the country is thickening as President Vladimir Putin resorts to tougher and dirtier methods of upholding his eroding authority. Persecution and police pressure on prominent “rebels” – from the fierce blogger,... MORE

Before the commotion over the possible death of the well-known Chechen rebel emir Zaurbek Avdorkhanov in the Ingush village of Galashki on July 29 had subsided (www.chechenews.com/world-news/breaking/8565-1.html), suicide bombers attacked in Grozny. As of August 8, it was still unclear whether Avdorkhanov was really killed,... MORE

On August 7, Norway’s Statoil announced its exit from the super-giant Shtokman gas field development in the Russian Arctic. The Norwegian company, majority state-owned, is writing off its investment into the Shtokman project, booking $335 million (apparently most of that investment) as financial expenses for... MORE

Prior to August 2012, nothing portended the souring of relations between the respective heads of Chechnya and Ingushetia – Ramzan Kadyrov and Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. It all began with a trivial news report about an explosion in a house in the village of Galashki in Ingushetia’s... MORE

The fourth anniversary of the August 2008 Russo-Georgian war has been marked by a seemingly open spat between the supporters of President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. In a 47-minute documentary film of unclear origin, “Lost Day,” posted on YouTube, retired and active... MORE

On August 5, a group of protesters blocked an international rail line in Dagestan for two hours. The railway links Russia with Azerbaijan and Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala, with Moscow. The protesters were from the village of Komsomolskoye in northern Dagestan’s Kizilyurt district and were protesting... MORE

Since 2008, Russia has been attempting to substantially reform its armed forces, and in 2010, it launched a massive procurement or State Armaments Program (SAP) for 2011-2020. That program calls for spending 23 trillion rubles ($723 billion) by 2020 to attain an armed force that... MORE