The style of Russia’s foreign policy has softened remarkably during the last year as President Dmitry Medvedev seeks to bring closure to the “episode” of the war with Georgia and wipe out all speculation on a hypothetical new Cold War. Gone are the “visionary” anti-American... MORE

The French government and, apparently, the Élysée Palace are moving fast to sell at least one Mistral-class helicopter carrier to Russia, possibly for deployment in the Black Sea. Such a sale would endow Russia with a modern naval and amphibious warfare capability that Russia currently... MORE

On October 26, a group of demonstrators rallied in Moscow to protest against the results of the mayoral election in the southern Dagestani city of Derbent on October 11. Over 300 people were reported to have taken part in the protest. Derbent’s acting mayor, Felix... MORE

In early October, the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Vladimir Popovkin announced the decision to take two heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers (TAKR) out of conservation and restore them to the active fleet. This decision coming just one year after the Petr Velikii (Peter the Great),... MORE

On October 21 Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev met his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in Ankara. During his extended official visit Nazarbayev prioritized cultural and economic links with Turkey and stressed the importance of the unity of Turkic nations. He visited the headquarters of TURKSOY, an... MORE

Last month, the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the large-scale military exercises Zapad 2009 held in Russia’s Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad and in Belarus. In Kaliningrad, Medvedev observed a landing by marines with the support of naval battleships and airpower. In Belarus, along with President... MORE

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko visited Moscow on October 23. Appointed earlier this month, Poroshenko views rapprochement with Russia as one of his main goals, and he made a point of saying what Moscow wanted to hear during his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei... MORE

Moscow and Beijing claim that their long-awaited gas supply deal is proof of what they describe as their bilateral strategic partnership, but the Russian and Chinese state-controlled energy giants apparently remain divided on the sensitive issue of gas prices. On October 13, the Russian gas... MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s October 20 visit to Belgrade (EDM October 27) helped accelerate Serbia’s orientation toward Russia’s economic orbit. The Serbian government is handing additional energy assets over to Russian companies and is eagerly seeking Russian involvement in infrastructure projects and joint enterprises in... MORE

On October 8 Nikolai Patrushev, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council and the former Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), signaled planned changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine. He explained in Novosibirsk that this will be reflected in the new military doctrine titled:... MORE