The Barack Obama administration began nuclear arms control negotiations with Moscow this year, eager for swift progress to help “reset” bilateral relations and achieve progress on more sensitive issues such as Iran and Afghanistan. The expiry date of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty or... MORE

Ukraine finds it increasingly difficult to survive without money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country paid Russia for October’s gas deliveries with IMF funds and the same means will be used for November’s gas deliveries. However, the IMF did not disburse the fourth... MORE

The parliament of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria has ratified changes in the republican constitution at the request of the Russian Prosecutor-General. Final agreement was reached on November 10 after prolonged debates followed by two unsuccessful attempts to vote on the issue (Gazeta Yuga, November 12).The... MORE

Before departing for the APEC Summit in Singapore President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law new legislation concerning the use of Russia’s armed forces abroad. While retaining the stipulation that the armed forces would only be used under extreme circumstances, the new law stated that force... MORE

On November 13, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili convened yet another session of his country’s National Security Council (NSC) with the participation of major parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition parties. Boycotted by radical politicians, but highly appreciated by moderates, as a mechanism to conduct dialogue with the... MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, during his address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow on November 12, again highlighted the need to equip the armed forces with modern weapons and equipment. In the context of a lengthy, wide ranging speech which developed the theme of modernizing... MORE

On December 2, the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service reportedly will consider the conflict between two Russian state-owned companies –Gazprom and Rosneft. The decision came after Rosneft filed a complaint alleging that Gazprom limited Rosneft’s access to the Russian main gas pipeline network from April through... MORE

Three Scandinavian governments have allowed Gazprom’s Nord Stream pipeline, from Russia to Germany, to be built on the Baltic seabed (EDM, November 10). The Finnish, Swedish, and Danish governments had procrastinated or resisted for three years and their public opinion does not welcome the Nord... MORE

Four years after Germans and Russians signed the founding agreement (October 2005), the Nord Stream pipeline project has received the Scandinavian countries’ approval for construction on the Baltic seabed, from Russia to Germany. The Gazprom-led project, however, has not yet lined up the gas and... MORE

This week the Moscow daily Gazeta published extracts of a leaked defense ministry document describing the results of military training this year –providing a rare opportunity to know firsthand the actual battle readiness of the entire Russian armed forces. According to Russian military tradition, the... MORE