Latest Articles about Military/Security
Rearmament Declared the Main Issue in Russian Military Reform
A reshuffle of top military personnel was announced this week in Moscow. Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of Armaments, Colonel-General (retired) Vladimir Popovkin (52), was promoted to First Deputy Defense Minister. Russian Defense Minister, Anatoliy Serdyukov, has eight deputies –two of them first deputies. President,... MORE
The “Putinization” of Ukraine’s Security Forces
The “Putinization of Ukraine’s media policy” is taking place at the same time in Ukraine’s siloviki (security forces). Both steps lead Ukraine closer to Kuchma’s semi-authoritarian regime and Vladimir Putin’s “managed/sovereign democracy” in Russia.“Putinization” is occurring in both the Interior Ministry (MVS) and Security Service... MORE
Moscow Ponders “Strategy” in the “Reset”
Ahead of US President, Barack Obama, meeting his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in Washington on June 24, Moscow-based analysts have considered the progress of the “reset.” In two recent articles in Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, Sergey Rogov, Director of the USA and Canada Institute assessed the... MORE
Human Rights Activists in the North Caucasus Continue to be Harassed and Attacked
The rapporteur on the human rights situation in the North Caucasus for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Dick Marty, is expected to deliver his report titled “Legal remedies for human rights violations in the North-Caucasus Region” in Strasbourg on June 22.... MORE
Moscow Seeks Room to Maneuver as Crisis on the Korean Peninsula Intensifies
The sinking of the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) Corvette, Cheonan, on March 26, has proven to be a slow-building crisis, but one fraught with grave risks of conflict on the Korean peninsula. Moscow’s response has revealed much about the limits affecting Russian policy in the... MORE
No Let-Up in Attacks in Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria
Violence continued unabated this week in Dagestan, which increasingly appears to be the new focal point of insurgent activity in the North Caucasus.Earlier today (June 18), unidentified attackers fired automatic weapons from a car at a vehicle in which Russian servicemen were riding in the... MORE
Moscow’s Biggest Victory over the North Caucasus Rebels Since Fall 2000
The Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation announced that on June 9, the leader of the Ingush Jamaat, Emir Magas (aka, Ahmed Yevloev or Ali Taziev), was captured during a special operation conducted in the Ingush town of Malgobek. It was the first... MORE
Rebuilding Inter-Ethnic Trust Becomes Kyrgyzstan’s Major Concern
Most media outlets described the recent violence in southern Kyrgyzstan as an inter-ethnic clash that has re-opened historical grievances among ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups. Kyrgyzstan’s provisional government, in turn, accused the former President, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, of provoking the violence. Local NGO’s have put forward... MORE
Moscow Caught Unprepared by the Carnage in the Ferghana Valley
The outbreak of ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in the cities of Osh and Jalalabad between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks has left, according to the latest official figures, some 200 dead, thousands wounded and up to 100,000 minority Uzbeks fleeing pogroms by Kyrgyz mobs. The head... MORE
Perceptions of Success and Failure in ISAF Operations in Marjah, Afghanistan
NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) launched Operation Moshtarak in the Nad Ali and Lashkar Gah Districts of Afghanistan’s Helmand Province in mid-February. The intent was to wrest it from Taliban control and create a “bubble of security” for local governance, described in an ISAF... MORE