Analysts who have followed developments in Syria and Iraq have increasingly paid attention to the presence of Chechen fighters in the area since 2013. An influx of large numbers of Chechen militants to Syria created conditions for the appearance of ethnicity-based Chechen armed groups.  ... MORE

The Kremlin has deliberately obscured the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), in eastern Ukraine, under a fog of confusion. As such, on a single day last week, a Russian analyst argued that the two self-styled republics are about to... MORE

On December 4, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the killing of Rustam Asilderov (a.k.a. amir Abu Muhammad Kadarsky) in Makhachkala, Dagestan. Government forces killed Asilderov along with four other insurgents in the Dagestani capital’s suburb of Talgi. Asilderov, 35, was the leader of... MORE

December 8 marked the 25th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The document that did away with the USSR was signed by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus in Viskuli, at a hunting lodge belonging to the Communist Party leaders, in the... MORE

Two breaking news dominated the political debates and rumor bazaars in Moscow at the end of last week. One was the publication of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s report on the second part of the independent investigation led by Richard McLaren on the scope of use... MORE

On November 30, the Political Council of Georgia’s former ruling party, the United National Movement (UNM) decided, after intense internal debate, that it would hold a much larger congress on January 20, 2017, than initially proposed—instead of 2,000 delegates as suggested by some party leaders,... MORE

On December 4, Moldova’s Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia held the second round of its legislative election. The People’s Assembly (Gagauzia’s legislature) is composed of 35 members elected for a four-year term in 35 single member districts. A winner needs to gain at least 50... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin is putting in place a new approach to nationality issues within the Russian Federation, one that not only represents a departure from the first 16 years of his time in power, but also is likely to fail spectacularly and force him... MORE

On November 22, Vladimir Solovyov, a Russian documentary filmmaker and a TV talk show host, made a public appearance at the Palace of the Republic in Minsk. Immediately before the gathering, a dozen or so opposition-minded youths demonstrated in front of the venue, bearing slogans... MORE

On November 28, the Committee for Defense and Security in the Georgian parliament held hearings on whether to amend the Law on the Occupied Territories (Sputnik-georgia.com, November 29). The proposed changes in the legislation would concern the criminal prosecution of Russian citizens who visit Abkhazia... MORE