On July 26, Russia released its new maritime doctrine to 2020 (Kremlin.ru, July 26). It is important not to confuse this document with a new “naval doctrine,” although this doctrine certainly has important things to say about Russia’s navy. Rather, the “Maritime Doctrine of the... MORE

Moscow has implemented another step toward improving and consolidating its conventional military force capabilities by creating an entirely new arm of service: the Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno Kosmicheskikh Sil—VKS). The Aerospace Forces became functional on August 1, concluding several years of planning by the top brass... MORE

Diplomacy by the United States and Western Europe has recently intensified pressure on Ukraine to legitimize the Russian-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” (see EDM, July 31). Meanwhile, Moscow has almost fallen silent on this issue at the official level. Until the end of June,... MORE

While breaking the norms of international behavior at its own discretion, Russia may fancy itself a champion of change in the world order; but in fact, it is increasingly seen as an arrogant maverick and a sore loser. Russian media reported, with little commentary, the... MORE

On July 21, the prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, Temir Sariyev, issued a decree abrogating the Kyrgyz Republic’s bilateral aid and assistance agreement with the United States, which was initially signed in May 1993, in Washington, DC. The key element of this accord is the tax-free... MORE

The protracted and ongoing civil conflict in Yemen has brought to the fore a range of regional threats, both old and new. Most prominently, Yemen’s multisided battle space has already allowed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and its locally branded affiliate Ansar al-Shari’a to... MORE

The militant underground movement in the North Caucasus suffered large losses in Chechnya and Kabardino-Balkaria at the start of August 2015. On August 2, special forces of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the military and the police clashed with a group of militants in the... MORE

On May 25, the Bangladesh government banned the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) organization under the country’s 2013 anti-terrorism laws. The ABT was behind the recent killing of three secular/atheist bloggers—Avijit Roy, Washiqur Rahman and Anant Bijoy Das—whose writings criticized organized religion and the intolerance of... MORE

The accord recently struck between Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany (P5+1) represents a watershed in Middle East diplomacy. The culmination of almost two years of negotiations, the deal outlines a plan to lift most international economic sanctions on Iran... MORE

Events at the end of 2014 appeared to indicate that the end of the Caucasus Emirate (CE) was near. That was when the leaders of the CE regional branches in Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia switched sides by taking an oath of allegiance to Islamic State... MORE