Russian politics is currently heavily obsessed with the Winter Olympic Games, which will finally begin in Sochi this week (February 7). President Vladimir Putin is receiving reports about the heroic efforts continuing day and night to make sure the infrastructure is ready—which hardly bodes well... MORE

Moscow-based, independent television cable news channel Dozhd (meaning “Rain”) has been accused of “extremism,” and a number of cable TV providers threatened to remove it from the TV-channel packages that they offer their subscribers.  On January 26, 2014, in “Dilettanty”—a panel discussion program on the... MORE

Moscow commentators have already denounced the Baltic countries for supposedly helping to organize the Ukrainian revolution (windowrussia.ruvr.ru/2014_01_24/Baltijskij-sled-na-kievskom-evromajdane-5748/), and they have condemned Estonia, along with Finland, for supposedly stirring up the Finno-Ugric nations of the Middle Volga region of the Russian Federation (apn.ru/opinions/article30878.htm). But Moscow and... MORE

On January 28, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov submitted his resignation to President Viktor Yanukovych, while an extraordinary session of the parliament (Vekhovna Rada) repealed the “draconian laws of January 16,” which had triggered the outburst of radicalism, violent battles, and tense standoffs between protesters and... MORE

So much self-congratulating has been emanating from the Kremlin following the spectacular triumphs of Russian foreign policy since September 2013, that the court of President Vladimir Putin prefers to ignore the fact that the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, which took place in... MORE

As 2013 came to a close, China and Russia continued to be Uzbekistan’s most important partners: China as the country’s biggest investor, and Russia as its largest trade partner. However, last year’s signing of the Agreement on Strategic Partnership between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan made Astana... MORE

On December 18, 2013, in Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian government’s Ministry of Road and Transportation and the Mongolian-Russian shareholding “Ulaanbaatar Railway” Society organized the first tripartite consultative meeting of “The Mongolian-Russian-Chinese Northern Railway” (news.mn, December 19, 2013). Because of the lack of existing rail freight loading... MORE

New Delhi has invited Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to be the chief guest at its annual Republic Day parade, which celebrates both Indian democracy, but also showcases its military. One country in particular that will be keenly watching the visit, which will commence on... MORE

On January 1, new fishing regulations for the South China Sea, issued by the province of Hainan, went into effect, prompting objections from China’s territorial rivals in Southeast Asia, as well as the United States and Japan (Xinhua, January 10). Chinese spokespeople have sought to... MORE

The escalating crisis in Ukraine is reverberating in Moscow, where the ruling elite is convinced the violent clashes in Kyiv between special police forces and protesters have been organized and financed by the West. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the European Union of supporting... MORE