Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Ali_Abu_Muhammad_-_EDM_March_21__2014.jpg)
North Caucasus Militants Announce New Leader to Replace Umarov
After seven months without any communication from the Caucasus Emirate’s emir, Doku Umarov, the leadership of the North Caucasian rebels’ velayats on March 18 officially admitted the death of their leader (https://kavkazcenter.com/russ/content/2014/03/18/103603.shtml).The North Caucasian jihadists also announced their new leader—Abu Muhammad, who was the Caucasus... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Ukrainian_and_Crimean_Tatar_Letters_-_EDM_March_21__2014.jpg)
Crimean Tatars Fear for Their Safety After Crimea’s Annexation to Russia
On March 21, 2014, three days after he signed the treaty that “legalized” the annexation of Crimea as a new subject of the Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin officially annexed Crimea. The March 18 treaty was co-signed by the speaker of the Crimean Parliament, Vladimir... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Xi_unveiling_Kongzi.jpg)
Old Wine in an Ancient Bottle: Changes in Chinese State Ideology
Only a year since assuming the top Party post in November 2012, Xi Jinping has emerged as the strongest Chinese leader in decades. His sweeping anti-corruption and mass line campaigns have shaken the bureaucracy, consolidated his power, and removed the supporters of former security tsar... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Administrative_cases_chart.jpg)
Fleshing out the Third Plenum: the Direction of China’s Legal Reform
Since the Third Plenum in November of last year, a couple of interesting documents have appeared that have begun to add meat to the Plenum’s bare bones recommendations for reforming China’s legal system. Efforts appear to be underway to centralize court finance, end Re-education Through... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Ingush_checkpoint_-_EDM_March_20__2014.jpg)
Rebels in Ingushetia Target Police Under New Jammat Leadership
On the night of March 11, police officer Batyr Belkharoev was shot while he was driving his car near the village of Sagopshi in Ingushetia’s Malgobek district (https://lifenews.ru/news/128832). He died on the spot, while a relative traveling with him, Magomed Belkharoev, was wounded and taken... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Circassians_-_EDM_March_19__2014.jpg)
Activists Demand Greater Rights for Native Languages of Kabardino-Balkaria
Civil activists in Kabardino-Balkaria have launched a campaign to improve the status of the regional languages of the Kabardins (a.k.a. Circassians) and the Balkars. The activists say that with the republican parliament in the process of adopting new legislation about languages, it has ignored many... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Potash_-_EDM_March_19__2014.jpg)
How Developments in Ukraine Affect Belarus
The hottest issues for Belarus these days are prospects for further economic growth under new conditions—in part informed by Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Belarus’s official position with regard to this groundbreaking event. Even before the crisis in Ukraine, Belarus faced dwindling economic growth, an... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Moscow_peace_march__Mach_15_-_EDM_March_18__2014.jpg)
In Response to Ukraine, Russian Domestic Repression Increases
While television has mostly been state-controlled for a long time in Russia, newspapers and Internet media have remained relatively free. That relative freedom appears to be one of the first casualties in the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine as it seeks to prevent a Maidan-style protest... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/St._Michael_s_Cathedral__Kyiv_Patriarchate_-_EDM_March_18__2014.jpg)
A Crimean Anschluss Threatens the Moscow Patriarchate
If Moscow absorbs Crimea, as now seems likely, this illegal act will pose a serious threat to the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. Indeed, the annexation of Ukrainian territory will likely lead to the formation of a single autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church and... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Alexei_Navalny.jpg)
Russian Opposition Leader Says Russia’s Actions in Crimea Could Boomerang
On March 13, Alexei Navalny, arguably the most popular Russian opposition figure, weighed in on the crisis surrounding the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. Pointing to the fact that the Russian government does not allow the Russian people to hold referendums inside the country, Navalny asked... MORE