Activists in the North Caucasus called on compatriots to use the ongoing Russian census to advance the interests of their ethnic groups. The Russian census took place over the span of a month, from October 15 to November 14, 2021 (delayed by a year due... MORE

Since the victory of Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan in the Second Karabakh War (September 27–November 9, 2020), Russian commentators have been concerned about Ankara’s efforts to create a union of Turkic states under its aegis. And that alarm has only intensified now that Turkey has established... MORE

On November 13, one of the top leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party, former parliamentary chairperson Irakli Kobakhidze, issued a statement, in which he referred to Polish member of the European Parliament (MEP) Anna Fotyga as a “patron of criminals” (Facebook.com, November 13). Fotyga,... MORE

The political crisis in Belarus is far from over. Its internationalization along the lines of a geopolitical tug-of-war between Russia and the West began well before the current showdown over Middle Eastern migrants. Stuck at the Polish border (see EDM, November 11), the masses of... MORE

On the eve of this year’s Day of National Unity, on November 4, ethnic Russians and migrant workers clashed in a Moscow neighborhood, leading to a media circus in which Margarita Simonyan of RT denounced “persons of Caucasus nationality” for attacking Russians. Chechen leader Ramzan... MORE

An epiphenomenon is a secondary effect or byproduct that arises from but does not causally influence a process—so in a way, it is an occurrence whose significance is blown out of proportion. Social life and politics are replete with such epiphenomena. They regularly garner all... MORE

Ethnic-Chechen and ethnic-Russian members of a special forces unit clashed at the Tambukan training center, in Stavropol Krai, in mid-October. The row took place amidst trials these service members were undergoing to receive the honor of wearing the crimson (maroon) beret. The crimson beret symbolized... MORE

The back-to-back international summits of the G20 in Rome and COP26 in Glasgow at the end of October brought together hosts of dignitaries and hordes of activists, but one global leader was conspicuously absent—Russian President Vladimir Putin. One week prior, at the annual gathering of... MORE

October 2021 marked the most dramatic month-over-month increase in reported COVID-19 cases in the Russian Federation since the pandemic began, with up to 40,000 infections and over a thousand coronavirus-related deaths per day. In most Russian regions, hospital intensive care units (ICU) are occupied close... MORE

On October 25, United National Movement (UNM)—Georgia’s main opposition party, established in 2001 by former president Mikheil Saakashvili—released a statement regarding the hospitalization of its founder. In the statement, the party appeals to the international community, the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia, and international and... MORE