Latest Articles about Russia

Russian Defense Ministry Reorganizes Information Services

On October 1 the Russian defense ministry abolished all the former information structures throughout the armed forces, including within the military districts. Consequently, the press service and information directorate of the defense ministry has emerged as a revamped version of the directorate for information and... MORE

Medvedev’s Indecisiveness Permeates his Presidency

President Dmitry Medvedev made a surprisingly strong claim for leadership five weeks ago in his article “Go, Russia!” arguing that the country could only overcome the devastating recession by breaking the pattern of “endemic corruption.” The article is still lively debated; the key point of... MORE

U.S. Delegation Displays More Caution Than Usual on Georgia

Also on October 13 the head of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Aleksandr Bortnikov, publicly accused Georgia of harboring “al-Qaida” agents, arming and training “international terrorists,” infiltrating them into Chechnya, and orchestrating “terrorist” sabotage of oil and gas pipelines in Dagestan. He offered no... MORE

U.S. Delegation Returns Empty Handed From Moscow

The Kremlin blindsided U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with unexpected challenges during her October 13-14 Moscow visit, her first to Russia in that official capacity. The Russian side distorted the agenda previously agreed with Washington and frustrated U.S. goals across the board. Moscow timed... MORE

Violence and Political Turmoil Link South and North Ossetia

On October 13, the investigative committee of the Russian prosecutor-general’s office announced that a criminal group had been uncovered, which had carried out a number of high-profile killings in North Ossetia in 2007-2008. The victims included both the acting and a former mayor of Vladikavkaz... MORE

Massive Vote-Rigging Exposed in Russia

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Moscow this week in an effort to promote the “reset” in Russian-American relations, to secure collaboration on Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea, and offer the Kremlin ballistic missile defense cooperation and nuclear arms control agreements. However, for... MORE