Latest Articles about Russia
Russia and France Create Naval Construction Entity Ahead of Mistral Tender
The ill-omens continue accumulating for NATO in the run-up the Alliance’s summit. Among the adverse trends (which NATO and the United States are unwilling to discuss) is the temptation of some West European governments and arms producers to sell modern military equipment to Russia. This... MORE
Bat or Mouse? The Strange Case of Reforming Spetsnaz
One distinguishing hallmark of Russian defense reform is the unpredictable and apparently indiscriminate manner in which it is implemented. This approach leaves officers wondering about their future and where the next “surprise” might surface. The latest “victim” in this unstoppable process was the GRU Spetsnaz... MORE
Polish Government Defends Nontransparent Gas Agreement with Russia
The Russian-Polish gas agreements (“Russian-Polish Gas Agreement Leaves Key Questions Unanswered,” EDM, November 2) mark an unprecedented turnabout by the Polish government, siding with Russia and Gazprom despite the European Commission’s cautionary advice (EDM, October 4, 5). The Commission’s concerns are of a legal and... MORE
Russian-Polish Gas Agreement Leaves Key Questions Unanswered
On October 29 in Warsaw, the Polish government and state gas company signed long-term supply and transit agreements with Russia, despite strong cautionary advice and warnings of legal action by the European Commission (EDM, October 4, 5). The agreements prolong and entrench Polish dependence on... MORE
Moscow’s Behavior in the North Caucasus Increasingly Reminiscent of its Imperial Past
On October 26, the Russian president’s envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District, Aleksandr Khloponin, held his first live TV press conference. Khloponin expressly blamed instability in the region on the security services of Western countries, stating that the situation in the North Caucasus was... MORE
Court Cases Loom Large over Medvedev’s Presidency
The vanity of various foreign policy affairs has preoccupied President Dmitry Medvedev since his informal summit with the leaders of France and Germany two weeks ago: he traveled to Vietnam for the summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and prepared to participate... MORE
Is the Main Source of Chechen Rebel Weapons Georgia, or the Russian Army?
Bomb disposal experts in the Chechen capital destroyed a large improvised explosive device in a controlled explosion today (October 29). Police discovered the bomb in the village of Katayama in Grozny’s Staropromyslovsky district based off of information provided by a detained rebel accomplice. The device... MORE
Russia’s Message to Turkmenistan: Export Your Gas Anywhere Except Europe
On October 28, Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement strongly contradicting the Russian government’s views on the bilateral gas trade and on Turkmen gas export policy in general. The statement follows six days after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and a governmental delegation held... MORE
White House-Connected Think Tank Reframes U.S. Policy Toward Georgia (Part Two)
On the humanitarian situation, CAP’s study (Center for American Progress,“A New Approach to the Russia-Georgia Conflict,” October 2010, www.americanprogress.org) recommends US support for easing the movement of people and goods across demarcation lines between the secessionist territories and the rest of Georgia. “Ideally,” this would... MORE
Attack on Parliament in Grozny: Gain or Loss for the Rebels?
The attack perpetrated by four Chechen suicide bombers or shahids in downtown Grozny on October 19th, 2010 struck everyone by surprise. An explosion occurred early in the morning around 8:45 in the fenced yard of the Chechen parliament building killing two police officers on duty... MORE