Latest Articles about Russia

Russia Suspends Recruiting Cadets in Military Academies

The Russian defense ministry has announced that it will fully suspend the recruitment of new cadets for any of its military academies or schools for at least two years. The defense ministry is radically cutting the number of active service officers from 355,000 to 150,000... MORE

Russia Boosts Military Alliance With Armenia

Russia and Armenia have agreed to deepen their already close military ties, signing a deal that will strengthen Russian influence in the South Caucasus and could have profound implications for the unresolved Karabakh conflict. Amendments to a bilateral 1995 defense treaty were signed during Russian... MORE

Medvedev Re-energizes Russian Caspian Policy in Baku

Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, paid an official visit to Azerbaijan last weekend and added to all the protocol ceremonies an exchange of political gifts. Azeri President, Ilham Aliyev, wanted a substantial discussion of security matters, including Karabakh where a new clash had broken the old... MORE

Kazakhstan’s Uncertain Future in the Customs Union

On July 1, the Customs Union between Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus formally came into force. However, the occasion produced no cause for celebration among the members of the Customs Union. The reasons for such open pessimism over the future of this organization are becoming evident,... MORE

Insurgency-Related Violence Reported Across the North Caucasus

On August 12, an apparent arson attack in Khuchada, a village in Dagestan’s Shamilsky district, sparked a fire in the home of the imam of the local mosque, killing him, his wife and their three children (www.newsru.com, August 12). On August 11, the first day... MORE