Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
Moldova’s Regime-Change Movements: Pro-Russia Ascendant, Pro-West Losing Steam (Part One)
As anticipated from the outset (see EDM, September 9), the pro-Europe “Platform for Dignity and Truth” in Moldova has: 1) steadily lost steam in its effort to replace Moldova’s declared “pro-Europe” government with a genuine one, and 2) been overtaken by Russia-oriented regime-changers, with potentially... MORE
Circassians Intensify Demands to Repatriate Co-Ethnics From Syria
The killing of a Circassian pre-teen, 11-year-old Judy Mohammed Hair Maf, in Damascus on September 26 (Facebook.com, September 26), revitalized efforts of Circassians in the North Caucasus to repatriate their ethnic brethren from Syria. Circassian activist Khazrial Khanakhok held a protest in Maikop, Adygea, to... MORE
Saudi Arabia’s Yemen Intervention: A High Risk Gamble?
Saudi Arabia’s ongoing armed intervention in Yemen, which began overtly in March with airstrikes in support of Yemen’s internationally-recognized president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, has since become a coalition effort, although the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as Saudi Arabia’s major military partner in... MORE
The Islamic State’s Balkan ‘Strongholds’
To the Islamic State militant group, foreign fighters from the Balkans have particular importance due to their historical ties to Islam, their homelands’ proximity to other Western Europe and because ethnic disputes in the region remain close to the surface. A video released in June... MORE
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Evolves Under Pressure
The recent attack by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) camp at Badaber, located 10 miles from Peshawar, fully displayed the jihadist group’s professional, yet highly violent, nature. Dressed in uniforms of the Frontier Constabulary (a paramilitary force), 14 militants breached the... MORE
BRIEFS
BERLIN KNIFE ATTACK, WAVE OF ARRESTS UNDERLINES GERMAN RADICALIZATION THREAT James Brandon A known radical Islamist stabbed and wounded a policewoman in Berlin on September 17, and was subsequently shot dead (DW, September 17). The attacker, a 41-year-old ethnic Kurdish Iraqi man called Rafik Mohamad... MORE
Blockade of Crimea Is Continuing Peacefully
On September 20, Crimean Tatars launched a nonviolent protest action that they have named the “Citizens’ Blockade of Crimea” to suspend the transfer of goods from mainland Ukraine to the occupied territory of the Crimean peninsula. The peaceful blockade is taking place at Kalanchak, Chongar... MORE
Militants Who Fought in Syria Accused of Killing Five Hunters in Dagestan
Russia’s security services recently launched a special operation across Dagestan, the largest republic of the North Caucasus. Combined forces from the military, police and security services specifically targeted five Dagestani districts—Kurakhsky, Magaramkentsky, Suleiman-Stalsky, Tabasaransky and Khivsky. The special feature of the latest special operation is... MORE
Turkmenistan Considers Eliminating Generous Energy and Utilities Subsidies for Citizens
The Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan is considering abandoning the socio-economic system, in place since independence over 20 years ago, that the government has used to placate the population. At a meeting of the Council of Elders, on September 10, several members of this government... MORE
Three North Caucasian Republics Are De-Facto Bankrupt
Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) recently published data on the economic performance of the North Caucasian Federal District during the first seven months of 2015. According to the optimistic government statistics, the unemployment rate in the district fell by 1.5 percent, while industrial output... MORE