Latest Articles about Military/Security
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Ukraine’s Military Reform Marred by ‘Generals Scandal’
On October 14, President Viktor Yanukovych launched the advanced stage of Ukraine’s military reform by issuing a decree canceling the compulsory draft to the armed forces in 2014 (https://dt.ua/UKRAINE/v-ukrayini-skasovano-obov-yazkoviy-prizov-na-strokovu-sluzhbu-v-armiyu-130046_.html). However, Yanukovych’s announcement nearly coincided with a scandal involving three top Ukrainian generals in the General... MORE
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Shoigu Opts for Mystical Defense Plans (Part Two)
Russia’s defense minister, Army-General Sergei Shoigu, has served in office for one year and has scaled back or halted some of the reform initiatives of his predecessor, Anatoly Serdyukov. Yet, an underestimated aspect to Shoigu’s leadership relates to an increased level of secrecy around defense... MORE
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Tiananmen Attack: Global, Local or Both
On October 23, in Beijing, a driver crashed his Jeep into a gate in Tiananmen Square, setting off an explosion that killed two foreign tourists, the driver and his two passengers, who were his wife and mother. It also injured 40 other people. Within one... MORE
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The ‘Magician,’ the ‘Mace’ and the Russian Defense Industry (Part Two): When the Magic Does Not Work
As Russian defense manufacturers continue to stumble and produce failure-prone arms and equipment, Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy prime minister in charge of the defense industry, has been tasked by the Kremlin with fixing this under-performing sector. Yet, rather than introducing significant reforms and economic incentives... MORE
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Eurasian Chemical Weapons Threat Persists
In October 2013, Russian authorities reportedly thwarted a possible attack by militant extremists against the Maradykovo chemical weapons (CW) storage and elimination facility in the Middle Volga region of Kirov. The authorities stated that two young males from the North Caucasus allegedly had bomb components... MORE
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New Russian Legislation Codifies Collective Punishment
Having failed to achieve tangible success in combating the armed jihadi resistance in the North Caucasus, Russia has opted for the path of Joseph Stalin. Interestingly enough, the proposal did not come from any sort of Bolshevik party in the Russian State Duma—indeed, President Vladimir... MORE
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Shoigu to Build Office and Command Center Separate from General Staff
Next week will mark one year since Sergei Shoigu replaced Russia’s previous defense minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, who was disgraced by an inquiry into alleged corruption in the defense ministry–controlled holding company Oboronservis (see EDM, October 29). Before this appointment, Shoigu had served for less than... MORE
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Afghan and Syrian Links to Central Asian Jihadism
Since September 2013, Central Asian jihadists, including returnees from Syria, have attempted to carry out high-profile attacks in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Other Central Asian jihadists in Syria have increasingly publicized their activities with al-Qaeda in Iraq and al-Sham (Levant and the Eastern Mediterranean). As the... MORE
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Ever More Ethnic Russians are Becoming Islamist Militants
The October 21 suicide bombing of a Volgograd passenger bus was carried out, apparently, by a woman originally from the North Caucasian republic of Dagestan (see EDM, October 25). Nevertheless, a Russian website has recently asserted that the country’s Islamist groups would like to recruit... MORE
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Shoigu Opts for Mystical Defense Plans (Part One)
As the anniversary approaches in November 2013, marking one year since President Vladimir Putin sacked Anatoly Serdyukov and appointed Sergei Shoigu as Russia’s defense minister, evidence is mounting to indicate that the change may not herald better times for the military. Quite apart from Shoigu... MORE