On September 9, Russian diplomat Dmitry Vishernev was killed in Sukhumi, the capital of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, which Moscow has “recognized” as independent along with South Ossetia following Russia’s brief August 2008 war with Georgia. Vishernev was first secretary at the Russian... MORE

At a summit in Sochi, on Monday, September 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned leaders of the six-nation Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that Islamist militancy, such as that fueling the war in Syria, could reach their countries, particularly those with Muslim majorities. He pointed... MORE

This week (September 23), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), held a summit in President Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea residence in Sochi. The Russian-led military alliance is made up of several post-Soviet republics—Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Russia’s allies supported Moscow’s stand on... MORE

On September 20, the first deputy director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Sergei Smirnov estimated that 300-400 Russian citizens are participating in the conflict in Syria. “They will come back and that, naturally, is posing a serious danger,” the Russian security official said in... MORE

Moscow’s recent high profile diplomatic involvement in the Syria crisis resulted, in part, in some unmerited publicity for its navy due to the decision to dispatch a number of its assets to the Mediterranean Sea. The juxtaposition of the Russian Navy vis-à-vis the naval fleet... MORE

On September 17, Russian occupation forces in Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) renewed erecting fences and barbed wire in the Georgian village of Ditsi, which is located on the southern edge of the Russian-occupied Georgian region. Russians once again moved the occupation line hundreds of feet... MORE

Russia invariably proclaims that its response to the challenges provided by the opening up of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is purely political, diplomatic and peaceful. Yet, much of its behavior is characterized by preemptive military gestures driven by the belief, affirmed... MORE

Militants carried out two significant attacks in Chechnya and Ingushetia on September 16 and 17. The attacks took place in the districts that are adjacent to each other and have the same name—Sunzha. In the past, there was a single Sunzha district in Checheno-Ingushetia, but... MORE

Following Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem’s September 9 visit to Moscow at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (https://kommersant.ru/doc/2275019), the issue of the involvement of Chechens in the Syrian war once again came to the fore.At a press conference, Muallem insisted that his... MORE

The agreement between Russia and the United States to destroy the Syrian arsenal of chemical weapons was signed in Geneva last weekend on September 14, after several days of strenuous negotiations between delegations led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State... MORE