President Vladimir’s Putin’s decision, on September 2, to order adjustments to Russia’s 2010 Military Doctrine by the end of the year raised questions concerning the timing and its underlying intention (see EDM, September 9). Recent analysis in the Russian military press and statements by the... MORE

On October 21, the authorities in Dagestan announced that the head of the Dagestani branch of the Russian Federal Service for State Registration, Cadaster and Cartography, Adam Amirilaev, had stepped down from his position and was replaced by his deputy, Rizvan Bulatov (to05.rosreestr.ru, October 21).... MORE

Earlier this month (October 2014), Scandinavian, and especially Swedish, media have focused on Sweden’s apparently abortive efforts to locate what was allegedly a disabled Russian reconnaissance submarine off its shores near Stockholm (thelocal.se, October 24). But beyond the glaring evidence of the degradation of Swedish... MORE

International observers have paid much attention to the fact that many foreigners are fighting against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Tunisia holds first place among the countries of Asia and Africa, supplying volunteer fighters to the Syrian opposition forces (i100.independent.co.uk, September 11). Of the... MORE

On October 17, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka conducted a 5.5-hour-long press conference for Russian provincial journalists. This was the 12th event of its kind. The first one occurred in 2002, when Lukashenka realized that neither he nor Belarus is a darling of the Moscow media. An... MORE

In June, Tunisia’s interior minister said that at least 2,400 Tunisian jihadists are fighting in Syria. The majority of them, about 80 percent, are allegedly fighting within the ranks of the Islamic State organization, previously the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), although some... MORE

Al-Qaeda appears to be on the back foot globally. The Islamic State organization, previously the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and years before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, is dominating the global jihad scene. More than 19 Islamist militant groups worldwide have pledged allegiance... MORE

The expansion of a military airstrip and high-level visit from China’s naval chief this month have put a small island in the middle of the South China Sea back in the international media limelight (Xinhua, October 7; Global Times, October 16). Woody Island, known in... MORE

The suicide bombing in the capital of Chechnya (RIA Novosti, October 5) carried out by 19-year-old Apti Mudarov (vesti.ru, October 5) during Grozny’s City Day celebrations on October 5 (Kommersant, October 6), which was also Ramzan Kadyrov’s birthday (riafan.ru, October 5), would not be worth... MORE

Religious-driven conflicts in the North Caucasus are caused by the government’s interference in religious matters, according to Enver Kisriev, a Moscow-based expert of Dagestani origin. “I do not understand, why the political leadership of Russia thinks that it will be able to establish some sort... MORE