In Soviet times grandiose displays of military might during parades on Red Square in the center of Moscow were mostly designed to impress western Cold War adversaries. The last Soviet military parade was in November 1990. Russian society was engulfed in antimilitary sentiment caused by... MORE

The Ukrainian government and opposition alike have reacted coolly to Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s, April 30 proposal to merge the two countries’ national gas companies, Naftohaz Ukrainy and Gazprom. The government apparently does not see many benefits from such a move and hesitates, afraid... MORE

There can be no doubting Moscow’s intention to play a larger role in Latin America. President, Dmitry Medvedev, has confirmed this and Russian diplomacy in the past three months has featured trips by Latin American leaders to Moscow as well as by Medvedev and Prime... MORE

Each spring from 2007 to date, Georgia’s radical opposition has linked its regime-change campaigns with a powerful patron, in the hope of counterbalancing the state authorities. Initially that patron was an internal one the tycoon, Badri Patarkatsishvili, whose resources rivaled those of the state until... MORE

The Viktor Yanukovych administration is undertaking a radical overhaul of Ukraine’s national identity that turns its back not only on the Yushchenko era, but also on two earlier presidents. All three presidents promoted Ukrainophile national identity that was based on the doyen of Ukrainian historiography,... MORE

On May 6, the Kavkazsky Uzel (Caucasian Knot) website reported that the Chechen parliament resolved to address Moscow with a request to assist with clearing minefields in the republic. An estimated 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) of land in Chechnya remain littered with landmines years after... MORE

Sixty five years normally would not be considered a significant anniversary, but Victory Day is special for all Russians, so every official fanfare was blown last weekend and military parades were held from Sakhalin to Sevastopol. The holiday has always had a sad undertone because... MORE

Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s, April 30 proposal to “merge” Ukraine’s national energy company Naftohaz with Gazprom (EDM, May 5) has stunned the new Ukrainian authorities. During an entire week after the proposal’s airing President, Viktor Yanukovych, and Prime Minister, Nikolai Azarov, have arrogated to... MORE