Belarusian President, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has been trying desperately to offset the impact of a scathing attack on him by Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, on October 4. Since that time Lukashenka has made conciliatory statements regarding relations with Russia, while at the same time bolstering trade... MORE

The trilateral summit between French President, Nikolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev was advertised as an event of greater significance rather than just another cozy get-together. The overnight stay in the French resort of Deauville provided an opportunity for the... MORE

Rosneft's Kremlin-led breakthrough into German oil refining (EDM, October 19) has been accompanied by a sudden global expansion of the Russian half in the TNK-BP joint venture, again at the expense of its partner British Petroleum. Both Russian moves capitalize on BP's financial liabilities from... MORE

President Viktor Yanukovych’s foreign and security policy is controlled by Russia and coordinated with Moscow. The same conclusion is already appearing among European elites after seeing first-hand how Ukrainian foreign policy personnel work closely with Russia. Russian influence in Ukraine’s foreign policy is evident in... MORE

During a visit to Dagestan on September 21, Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus, Aleksandr Khloponin, urged the republican leadership to use the opportunities that had been provided by the federal authorities to make advances in economic development. “The time when it was possible to... MORE

 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s edict on September 23, formalizing sanctions against Iran following the UN Security Council resolution passed on June 9, has rekindled domestic interest in the “reset” policy in US-Russian bilateral relations. In addition to withdrawing from its earlier deal to supply the... MORE

On October 16 in Moscow, Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, and his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, witnessed the signing of an agreement whereby Russia’s Rosneft takes over Petroleos de Venezuela’s (PDVSA) massive refining capacities in Germany. With this, Rosneft is acquiring 10 percent of the total... MORE

On October 13, the Chechen rebel website Daymohk.org posted an item following up on the video posted by the site on October 7, in which three top rebel field commanders –Khusein Gakaev, Aslambek Vadalov and Tarkhan Gaziev– said they had renounced their oath of allegiance... MORE

On October 13 in Bucharest, Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller held talks with Prime Minister Emil Boc, Economics Minister Ion Ariton, and other officials, on Romania’s possible participation in Gazprom projects. Adriean Videanu, economics minister until six weeks ago and (unusually in Romania) an active proponent... MORE

The Chairman of the Duma Defense Committee, Viktor Zavarzin, disclosed last week some details of previously secret future defense budget procurement plans. Procurement expenditure on new weapons will grow dramatically from 380 billion rubles ($12.7 billion) in 2010 to 980 billion rubles ($32.7 billion) in... MORE