On November 7, the European parliament in Brussels observed Circassian Day. The event focused on Circassian diaspora organizations, their problems and expectations in relation to the European parliament. In attendance were diaspora groups from European countries, but also substantial Circassian delegations from the United States... MORE

The Russian-Circassian war was one of the longest and cruelest conflicts in world history. Between 1763-1822, most battles took place in the principality of Kabarda in Eastern Circassia until it became part of the Russian Empire. Those who did not accept Russian rule moved to... MORE

Recent attempts by Russian officials and members of the top brass to talk up the achievements of three years of reforming the Armed Forces have produced more questions than answers. There are signs that Moscow would like to present an image of a carefully worked... MORE

On November 4, the so-called Russian Marches took place in cities across Russia. The biggest rally took place in Moscow, where an estimated 14,000 people participated. For the first time at the annual rally, Russian nationalists appeared alongside popular Russian democrats. The well-known Russian pro-democracy... MORE

Dagestan’s Interior Ministry reported today (November 4) that two residents of Dagestan’s Tlyaratinsky district had been arrested for illegal possession of weapons. Hundreds of rounds of ammunition and explosives were seized from a 49-year-old resident of the village of Tlyarat, while ammunition and a sniper’s... MORE

News of the deployment of Iranian warships across the Atlantic Ocean as far as the Gulf of Mexico has raised new concerns regarding the Islamic Republic’s growing projection of naval power (Mehr News, September 30; Press TV October 5). The news follows other alarming reports... MORE

Kyrgyzstan’s new president-elect Almazbek Atambayev has once again hinted that he wants the US Transit Center at Manas out of Kyrgyzstan by the time coalition forces leave Afghanistan. “In 2014 the United States will have to withdraw its military base from the ‘Manas’ international airport,”... MORE

The recent murder of the Tabasaran sheikh of the Naqshbandi order, Sirajuddin Israfilov, has been extensively discussed in the North Caucasian media. Israfilov came from the village Khurik and so was better known as Sirajuddin Khuriksky. The Tabasarans are one of the highlander peoples of... MORE

This week Russia’s military intelligence service (Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravleniye –GRU) celebrated its official annual holiday – Military Spy Day (Dyen Voyennogo Razvedchyka). This professional holiday was established in October 2000 by President Vladimir Putin, himself a KGB spy during the Cold War in East Germany.... MORE

Planning to create a new branch of service in the Russian military, Aerospace Defense (Vozdushno Kosmicheskaya Oborona –VKO), has reached its final stages with its formal completion due on December 1, 2011. The nature of these changes, timescale and attending uncertainty will have profound implications... MORE