As winter approaches, the Ukraine-Russia gas price talks have been deadlocked, increasing the likelihood of a repetition of the “gas wars” of 2006 and 2009. Ukrainian officials pledged to avoid this but the situation is serious, with both sides firmly standing their ground. Ukraine repeatedly... MORE

Insurgency-related violence was reported in Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria this past week. An explosion in the center of Dagestan’s capital Makhachkala early today (September 9) injured four policemen. The blast took place shortly after midnight, when an apparent improvised explosive device that had been hidden in... MORE

Russian policy makers are in the process of defining conditions under which the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) might intervene to maintain political and civil order within member countries other than Russia (Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). In practice, any CSTO interventions could... MORE

On August 30, seven policemen, one person from the emergency situations ministry and a civilian died in a double suicide bomb attack in the Chechen capital Grozny that also left 23 people injured (https://kp.ru, August 31). Two perpetrators of the attack were quickly identified as... MORE

The six month long civil war in Libya and the NATO air campaign to oust Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has created division within the ruling class in Moscow and aggravated anti-Western and anti-American sentiment. Last March President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin publicly clashed... MORE

President Dmitry Medvedev’s think-tank, the Institute for Contemporary Development (INSOR), has worked out proposals for reorganizing the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to raise its effectiveness and expand its role. The proposed changes would accelerate decision-making procedures in the CSTO; establish a right of... MORE

On September 3, the Russian security services killed four suspected rebels in the town of Baksan, Kabardino-Balkaria. Two servicemen, a woman and a child were injured in the special operation. This instance of killing suspects was unusual because it highlighted the Russian security services’ tactics.... MORE

On August 31, officials in Dagestan unveiled the plan to dispatch an additional 200 troops to fight insurgents in the republic’s Kizlyar district. The reinforcements are part of the 7,000-man military force that was created in Dagestan earlier this year. Dagestan’s territory was divided into... MORE

Preparations are intensifying ahead of the operational-strategic exercise Tsentr 2011 scheduled for late September in southern Russia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Tsentr 2011 will test the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) rapid reaction forces (Кollektivnye Sil Operativnogo Reagirovaniya –KSOR) and its possible preparedness to respond to... MORE

The new political season in Russia officially started last week with the decree on holding the State Duma elections on December 4 signed by President Dmitry Medvedev in front of representatives of officially recognized parties (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, August 30). Perhaps the most characteristic feature of... MORE