In the immediate aftermath of President Vladimir Putin confirming the continuance of Anatoliy Serdyukov in his post as Russia’s Defense Minister, the mystery has deepened surrounding existing plans to transform the non-commissioned officer (NCO) cadre, reform the officer corps and recruit contract personnel for service... MORE

Kabardino-Balkaria is likely to face the worst case scenario in the security sphere this summer and fall. The republic’s jamaat seems to have finished regrouping, having recovered following its deep crisis of 2011, when it lost practically all of its top and middle-ranking leadership. After... MORE

On June 4, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev affirmed the new makeup of the government commission for the socio-economic development of the North Caucasus. The commission is comprised of 26 top officials and headed by Medvedev himself. Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus, Aleksandr Khloponin, and... MORE

On May 30, the Ministry of National Security (MNS) of Azerbaijan reported that two weeks earlier it had neutralized an armed group of Sunni Islamist militants who planned to kill the President of Azerbaijan and carry out bomb attacks during the Eurovision Song Contest. Azerbaijani... MORE

On May 22, during the NATO Summit in Chicago, Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev and NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow signed an agreement on ground transport routes for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), allowing the country to actively support the complex drawdown of... MORE

At the end of May and the beginning of June, a series of militant attacks shook Dagestan. On May 31, the former police chief of Dagestan’s Untsukul district, Magomed Abdulmalikov, was killed in Buinaksk. Abdulmalikov headed the Untsukul district police until 2006. The district is... MORE

Sunni Arab tribalism has a significant socio-cultural, political, and security impact on the current uprising in Syria, with strong implications for post-Assad governance formation. Tribalism has fueled unrest throughout Syria, including in places such as Dera’a, where mass opposition demonstrations began on March 15, 2011,... MORE

Abd al-Hakim Belhadj, the former “Amir” of the now defunct Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), announced on May 15 that he is resigning from his post as head of Tripoli’s Military Council in order to run in the June 19 election of Libya’s General National... MORE

The course of events in the republic of Ingushetia, the smallest and youngest republic of the Russian Federation, has changed dramatically over the past two years. In particular, changes were seen in the confrontation between the armed opposition, the Sharia jamaat and the pro-Moscow authorities,... MORE

Kazakhstan and the other Central Asian countries played important roles at last week’s NATO summit in Chicago thanks to the session’s emphasis on Afghanistan and partnerships. Nonetheless, the Central Asian delegations joined others in expressing unease about NATO’s support for Eurasian security after NATO ends... MORE