The surprise visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Vladikavkaz on February 22, 2010 (www.rian.ru/politics/20110222/337349132.html) clearly shows how complicated the situation is in the region. The choice of cities in the North Caucasus where the head of the Russian state can be safely hosted has... MORE

On March 1, Russia’s Gazprom bought the license to develop the giant Kovykta gas field in eastern Siberia from BP’s joint venture in Russia, TNK-BP. Since 2003, the Kremlin had systematically prevented the project’s development, seeking instead to bring it under Russian state control. Now,... MORE

Continued technical mishaps are undermining Russia’s efforts to modernize its military and defense industry. The Russian defense industry is in deep crisis while efforts to import Western technology, spearheaded by First Deputy Defense Minister in charge of rearmament Army-General (retired) Vladimir Popovkin, are bringing mixed... MORE

On February 28, President Dmitry Medvedev appointed two heads of North Caucasian republics, Karachaevo-Cherkessia and Chechnya. Ramzan Kadyrov was reappointed to rule Chechnya since his first term as head of the republic was about to expire. Karachaevo-Cherkessia received a new leader, 34-year-old Rashid Temrezov, while... MORE

On February 25, the Kremlin reacted angrily to an article that appeared on the same day in Nezavisimaya Gazeta in which Vladimir Mukhin alleged that responsibility for military reform had passed to the Security Council. Russian presidential press secretary, Natalya Timakova, denied that the defense... MORE

The meeting of the European Commission and the Russian government on February 24 in Brussels featured the largest-ever format in the history of such meetings. Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, and 13 members of his cabinet of ministers attended, as well as almost the entire... MORE

On February 27, a counterterrorist operation regime in Kabardino-Balkaria was extended to parts of the republican capital Nalchik, and the Chegem and Cherek districts. The counterterrorist operation had been established earlier in parts of the Elbrus and Baksan districts. The introduction of a counterterrorist operation... MORE

The shockingly violent civil war in Libya has pushed the Russian leadership to re-evaluate the nature and the impact of the revolutions that keep shaking the Arab world. Worries in the Kremlin are very different from concerns in Washington about the departure of such loyal... MORE

On February 24 in Brussels, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin led a governmental delegation for talks with the European Commission on the full range of EU-Russia relations. The Russian delegation lobbied heavily for EU endorsement of Gazprom’s South Stream project. It also raised strong objections... MORE

There are increasing signs that North Caucasus style unrest may be spreading to nearby Krasnodar Krai, in particular to Sochi, the planned site of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Authorities in Sochi today (February 25) defused an improvised explosive device (IED) that had been placed on... MORE