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

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

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

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

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

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

Former US administrations of both parties formulated their policies toward Georgia in a context of European and Euro-Atlantic interests. Viewing Georgia (along with Azerbaijan) as a strategic asset for energy transit to Europe and for Allied outreach to Asia, those US administrations led the way... MORE

A number of British newspapers have reported from Brussels quoting NATO sources that “Russia has agreed to return to the war in Afghanistan at the request of Western states.” A “groundbreaking agreement” with Russia may be announced at the NATO summit next month in Lisbon,... MORE

Russia may have refused to sell the S-300 missile to Iran, but it is hardly refraining from selling weapons to its traditional Middle Eastern friends. Despite its recent agreement to buy drones and other military equipment from Israel and a strong Israeli and US diplomatic... MORE

A massive and bizarre counter-terrorist operation is underway in the mountains of Kabardino-Balkaria. On October 20, fighting between government forces and a group of armed insurgents broke out in the mining town of Tyrnyauz. A policeman and three rebels were killed in the clash, according... MORE