On December 1, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin appointed himself as the head of the Russian government’s commission for the socio-economic development of the North Caucasus. The existing head of the North Caucasus Federal District, Aleksandr Khloponin, became Putin’s deputy on the commission. “Close coordination... MORE

On November 3, the Global Times reported that “some 1,800 naval forces and at least 100 warships, submarines and combat aircrafts [sic]” of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “Marine Corps” held a live-fire exercise called “Jiaolong-2010” (Dragon-2010) in the “disputed South China Sea” (Global Times,... MORE

Since 2007, in large part due to aggressive Russian posturing, the Arctic region has become a bone of contention among members of the Arctic Council as well as a subject of international concern. While the signing of the Russo-Norwegian treaty on September 15 put an... MORE

Beijing has suffered serious collateral damage in the wake of Pyongyang’s attack on South Korea last week. Despite the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) administration’s generous material and moral support, the Kim Jong-Il regime has refused to mend its roguish ways. North Korea’s shelling of Yeonpyeong... MORE

The father of Umar Israilov, the former bodyguard of the Chechen President, Ramzan Kadyrov, who was murdered in Vienna in January 2009 after accusing Kadyrov of torture and giving evidence against him to the European Court of Human Rights, is expected to testify today (October... MORE

The Philippine military’s new operational strategy in Mindanao involves the transfer of Marines from Basilan to Central Mindanao as part of a realignment of forces. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Lieutenant General Ricardo David confirmed on November 4 that a Marine brigade is... MORE

Mass arrests of alleged terrorists in three European countries –Belgium, Holland and Germany– were shown live on TV in Holland and Belgium in late November. The campaign started with bold headlines referring to the arrests of individuals from the Chechen branch of Islamists. In an... MORE

This week’s annual national address by President, Dmitry Medvedev, to a joint session of parliament sitting in the Kremlin together with the entire senior ruling elite, amazed the press in Moscow, being mostly about the problems of childcare and education (EDM, December 1). The official... MORE

The sensational release of US diplomatic cables has touched upon the situation in the North Caucasus. The WikiLeaks website published what appeared to be a US Embassy employee’s account of his visit to an influential Dagestani politician’s wedding in August 2006. The report is undersigned... MORE

On December 30, Dmitry Medvedev delivered a national address, his third as Russia’s president (https://kremlin.ru/news/9637). It was also his third major communication session with the population in just one week. Judging by their different content and means of delivery, it looks like a classical marketing... MORE