Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
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Presidential Council on Inter-Ethnic Relations Meets in Saransk
On August 24, in the ethnic republic of Mordavia, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the recently re-instituted “Council for Inter-Ethnic Relations.” The Council, which Putin had dissolved in 2001, was re-established in June 2012. The timing and location of the first meeting symbolically celebrated... MORE
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A New Mongolian Government Is Finally Formed
On August 25, Prime Minister Norovyn Altankhuyag chaired the first full cabinet meeting since Mongolia’s sixth parliamentary election, which was held on June 28 (Mongolian Government Press, August 26). Because his Democratic Party could not obtain the 39 parliamentary seats necessary to form its own... MORE
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Putin Increases His Attention to the Northwest Caucasus
On September 5, President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow with a delegation from Karachaevo-Cherkessia, headed by the republican governor, Rashid Temrezov. Besides the top republican official, a teacher, a farmer, a businessman and a scholar took part in the meeting. This type of meeting with... MORE
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China’s Shades of Grey
China seems to call out for dramatization. In part this may be the result of its tumultuous history from the First Opium War and the Taiping Rebellion through to the Cultural Revolution and the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. In part it is a... MORE
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Who Was Really Behind the Death of Dagestan’s Sheikh?
On August 28, one of the most respected spiritual leaders of Dagestan of the past century, Said Atsaev, was murdered in the village of Chirkei, located 25 kilometers northwest of the city of Buinaksk. Better known as Sufi Sheikh Said Efendi Chirkeisky, Atsaev was a... MORE
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Putin Plans to Rearm Russia Against the West with Western Help
During the mass public protest demonstrations in Moscow that began last December, one of the most popular public slogans has been “Putin—vor [thief]!” This catchphrase unites opposition forces that in most cases have little else in common: pro-Western liberals, Marxist leftists and pro-Nazi nationalists—the three... MORE
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Circassian Activists Call for Three North Caucasus Republics to Take in Syrian Refugees
In August, Circassian activists in Kabardino-Balkaria announced that the republic had filled its quota of Circassian refugees coming from Syria. The leader of the Peryt civic organization, Akhmed Stash, told a reporter from the Kavkazsky Uzel (Caucasian Knot) website that refugees arriving from Syria were... MORE
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Political Autumn in Russia Blows Hot and Cold
The end of summer has instantly switched Russian politics to full gear as events and challenges are crowding the agenda and confusing the trajectory of the oscillating but not dissipating crisis. The Borodino battlefield outside Moscow saw over the weekend celebrations of the 200th anniversary... MORE
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Hot Issue — Voice of Russia Campaigns for Removal of Romanian President Basescu
Executive Summary While the Romanian state has been struggling with a constitutional crisis pitting President Traian Basescu against the Social-Liberal Union (SLU) government of Victor Ponta, the Kremlin mouthpiece Voice of Russia has increasingly been instigating and drawing out the conflict. President Basescu survived the... MORE
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Holy Sultan Mosque Marks Kazakhstan’s Muslim Revival
Last month, the largest mosque in Central Asia, Hazret Sultan (“Holy Sultan”), opened in Astana. The mosque, whose total area is more than 17,500 square meters (188,368 square feet), is designed in classic Islamic style with traditional Kazakh ornaments and decorative elements. Its walls have... MORE