A major advantage of the scheme for consensual rotation between Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitri Medvedev by the means of presidential elections was supposed to be a low intensity of infighting in the common court over which they jointly rule. It has not... MORE

Suspected militants have attacked police in Kabardino-Balkaria and Ingushetia, with the latter republic experiencing a recent uptick in insurgency-related violence.In Kabardino-Balkaria today (April 6), two suspected rebels who attacked a police officer were killed in a special operation in Nalchik. According to local authorities, the... MORE

On March 30 on his maiden visit to Moscow, Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev struck a poor deal with Russia. Under imperative instructions from his prime minister, Boyko Borissov, Dobrev tentatively promised a final investment decision by November 15, 2012 regarding the Bulgarian... MORE

March appeared to be a fairly successful month for the Russian security services that carried out counterterrorism operations in Kabardino-Balkaria. On March 29, Kabardino-Balkaria’s parliament, along with republican Interior Minister Sergei Vasiliev, appealed to Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District, Aleksandr Khloponin, asking... MORE

Russian Defense Ministry sources told the semiofficial news agency Interfax that action plans are being finalized to react to an armed conflict involving Iran and its nuclear program. The General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces “calculates” that military action against Iran will commence “in... MORE

On March 30, an estimated 50 relatives of the murdered member of Karachaevo-Cherkessian parliament, Islam Krymshamkhalov, staged a protest near the office of Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus, Aleksandr Khloponin, in Pyatigorsk. Krymshamkhalov was killed near the Karachaevo-Cherkessian Supreme Court in Cherkessk in January... MORE

During a recent reception for naval officers serving in Russia’s Northern Fleet hosted by Dmitry Dmitriyenko, the governor of Murmansk Oblast, changes to combat training and the achievements of the 2011 training year were highlighted. Admiral Vladimir Korolev, the Commander of the Northern Fleet, outlined... MORE

On March 30, Ingushetia’s opposition published an open appeal to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The opposition in the republic, which is organized in a group called Mekhk-Khel (People’s Council), demanded the Russian president “force a return of the situation in the republic to the proper... MORE

The Russian parliamentary elections in December 2011 inspired a wave of demonstrations against graft corruption and a rigged vote, as well as political rumblings across the country. Yet, in spite of it all, Vladimir Putin won a resounding victory in Russia’s March 4th presidential elections... MORE

A car being driven by a Federal Security Service (FSB) officer blew up today (March 30) in Ingushetia’s main city, Nazran. The explosion wounded the officer, identified as Ruslan Yandiev, and his wife, who was traveling in the car with him and reportedly also works... MORE