In what might be called his presidential campaign speeches, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has promised that within a decade a three trillion ruble ($95.18 billion) modernization program will completely rearm the entire military as well as make Russia a paragon of global growth, science and... MORE

Turkish media have been grappling with finding a solution to the mystery killing of three Chechens in broad daylight in one of the tourist districts of Istanbul on September 16 (www.newsru.com, September 16). One of the three murdered Chechens, Berg-hazh Musaev, was close to the... MORE

On October 17, details emerged of a controversial operation by the Russian security services in a remote Dagestani village of Khutrakh. Rights activists who clandestinely traveled to the sealed off area condemned the police operation as a manifestly punitive action. “[I]n Khutrakh we saw frightened,... MORE

Russian Defense Minister, Anatoliy Serdyukov, has signaled a shift in emphasis in the effort to reform the Armed Forces. According to Serdyukov the “first stage” of “military reform” concerned organizational changes mostly affecting the staffing of the military, now the “second stage” has commenced, which... MORE

When the British-Russian rivalry was starting in Central Asia about two centuries ago, few could have predicted that India – a British platform of that geopolitical struggle – would rise, as a sovereign power, to project influence in the very region once vied over by... MORE

On September 23, the Russian justice ministry issued an official warning to the Circassian Congress in Adygea. Russian officials accused the Circassian activists of extremism and incitement of hatred. Following the recognition of the Circassian “genocide” by the Georgian parliament in May 2011, the Circassian... MORE

The head of the Dagestani branch of the Federal Penitentiary Service, Muslim Dakhkhaev, was wounded in an attack in Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala, yesterday (October 13).  The attack occurred just before 9 p.m., local time, when unidentified gunmen shot and threw grenades at the Mercedes in... MORE

Amid Taiwan’s torrid summer heat, the island’s political temperature has been further raised by the controversy surrounding visits to China by senior-ranking retired national security officials. In early June, retired Taiwanese Air Force General Hsia Ying-chou was quoted as stating at a Beijing forum that... MORE

China’s successful launch of a space station on September 29 marks an important new phase in China’s human spaceflight program as it takes steps to establish a long-term manned presence in space. Tiangong-1—which means Heavenly Palace in Chinese—is China’s first space station that is intended... MORE

On September 21, the Obama administration announced a long-awaited decision on arms sales to Taiwan. As was widely expected, Washington agreed to upgrade Taiwan’s existing F-16A/B fighter aircraft rather than provide it with new F-16C/D fighters. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) indicated the retrofitting... MORE