Since Moscow’s military intervention in Syria, expert attention has intermittently turned to the role played by Russian special forces in this theater of operations. On May 10, a number of photographs were published online showing Russian special forces operating in northwestern Syria (Almasdarnews.com, May 10).... MORE

On May 6, Turkish, Azerbaijani and Russian representatives met in Ankara and issued a joint memorandum on significantly transforming the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) railway project. The Georgian leadership made clear that it was dissatisfied with the trilateral proposal, which was signed without Tbilisi’s consent (see EDM,... MORE

A recent Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) report entitled, “The Composition of Crimes in Russia for January to March 2019” revealed that the number of crimes committed against foreigners and stateless persons has increased 9 percent year-on-year. Simultaneously, the number of crimes committed in... MORE

No one, not even former Kazakhstani president Nursultan Nazarbayev, expected the transition from his 30 years in power to be easy. Indeed, despite giving up the presidency, the longtime Kazakhstani leader nonetheless remains the dominant power in his country to ensure that the worst does... MORE

On May 15, Ukraine’s outgoing president, Petro Poroshenko, promulgated the “Law on Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language.” The accompanying communique characterizes this law as “one of the fundamental acts in the formation of Ukrainian statehood” (Ukrayinska Pravda, May 15).... MORE

On May 9, Belarus held its annual Victory Day commemoration, marking the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in 1945. As part of the ceremonies, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka laid a wreath at the Victory Monument, at the eponymous square in Minsk. In his speech,... MORE

On May 5, an Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) crash-landed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, killing 40 passengers and one crewmember (TASS, May 6). Russian President Vladimir Putin held a moment of silence at the start of the May 8 Federal Council meeting, thus breaking his... MORE

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the administrative borders between the 15 constituent Soviet Socialist Republics became internationally recognized state borders. Yet, even during Soviet times, some of those administrative borders were, in places, fuzzy and uncertain—a problem inherited by many of the newly... MORE

Among students of Russia, it has long been a commonplace belief that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), because of its caesaro-papist traditions, is a handmaiden of the Russian state in all its forms, working closely with and supporting Russian government policies. More recently, many have... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here.   Ukraine’s outgoing president, Petro Poroshenko, and the governing coalition (whose mandate is also about to expire) have bequeathed the foundation and building blocks of Ukrainian resilience against Russia’s adversity. President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky and the soon-to-be-elected next parliament... MORE