Introduction In tandem with its increasingly provocative coercive military measures directed against Taiwan, throughout the course of 2022, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) also ramped up its accompanying rhetoric. The PRC vigorously reasserted its irredentist sovereignty claims, decried alleged “separatist” activities by Taiwan’s political... MORE

On March 12 and 13, just ten days after his state visit to China (see EDM, March 16), Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka paid an official visit to Iran. For similar reasons with the visit to Beijing—that is, widespread speculation that Minsk might be joining Russian-Iranian... MORE

Not surprisingly, given Russia’s war against Ukraine, Iran’s decision to supply Moscow with drones and other military technology has attracted some of the most attention around the world (Cursorinfo.co.il, March 30). And equally unsurprising, given the long-term consequences of any change in east-west and north-south... MORE

On March 18, the pro-presidential social movement “Belaya (White) Rus” became a political party. This decision was made by the organization’s inaugural congress in its new capacity. The respective aspirations have been repeatedly voiced since 2008—that is, almost from the very foundation of Belaya Rus.... MORE

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Vladimir Putin regime has been increasingly compared to Hitler’s Nazi Germany. At the end of last year, the Russian television channel Dozhd (now based in the Netherlands and known as “TV Rain”) released a long... MORE

*Read Part One. Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, launched on February 24, 2022, has elevated the public image and even popularity of the notorious Wagner Group and its sponsor Yevgeny Prigozhin in Russia. A combination of factors—a more sophisticated recruiting approach, an expanded... MORE

*Read Part One. Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s March 17 speech represents the official launch of Moldova’s reconstructed policy toward Russia. The lengthy address was delivered in Parliament but was explicitly intended for the country at large. Some of its line items had been voiced by... MORE

Moldovan President Maia Sandu and her Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), in power since 2020 and 2021, respectively, are executing a full reversal of their erstwhile policy toward Russia. That policy had sought a modus vivendiwith Moscow and, by extension, to broaden the party’s... MORE

On March 22, Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu declared that Russia will complete the modernization of the missile defense system around Moscow by the end of 2023. He also announced the upcoming deployment of new units: one air defense division, one air defense brigade,... MORE

The Cossacks present broader and more serious challenges to the Kremlin than perhaps any other ethnic or regional group in the Russian Federation, challenges that increasingly affect the country as a whole. The Vladimir Putin regime recognizes this reality and has been taking various steps... MORE