A massive flurry of official statements was released to the Russian mass media by politicians, analysts, and experts on Russia summing up the year 2009 in the North Caucasus. After an assessment of these statements, it is increasingly obvious that the situation in the region... MORE

On January 4, the operational headquarters in Chechnya announced that the zone of the counter-terrorist operation in the Achkhoi-Martan and Urus-Martan districts, in the republic’s southwestern foothills, had been expanded. Law enforcement officials were quoted saying that they had additional information about possible terrorist suspects... MORE

According to Masrour Barzani, director of the Ajansi Parastini Asayishi Heremi Kurdistan (Kurdistan Region Security Protection Agency) of northern Iraq, Kurdish security agencies have the legal right to operate outside of the borders of the three provinces of the Kurdistan region. Barzani is the son... MORE

The People's Republic of China (PRC) 60th National Day, which took place on October 1, 2009, was lauded by the Chinese-media for its display of the military's ‘precision striking capabilities.’ According to Yu Jixun, deputy commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Second Artillery Corps—China's... MORE

As NATO forces push forward toward stabilizing Afghanistan, backed by the commitment of an additional 30,000 U.S. troops, there has been a growing call by the United States for other countries to shoulder a greater share of the security burden. While China is clearly increasing... MORE

In one of the worst terrorist attacks in the North Caucasus in recent months, six policemen were reportedly killed and 19 wounded yesterday (January 6) when a suicide bomber detonated a jeep at a transport police base in the Reduktorny district of Makhachkala, the capital... MORE

Russia’s military modernization ambitions include a shift from fully self-sufficient arms procurement to selective purchase of advanced military technologies from abroad. As Ruslan Pukhov, presidium member of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Public Advisory Council, observes, the acquisition of Mistral-class warships from France would constitute a... MORE

Moscow and Washington have failed to complete a strategic nuclear arms control agreement before the end of 2009. This failure may cast a long shadow on other more urgent issues, such as cooperation on Afghanistan and the Iranian nuclear issue. The failure underlines the gap... MORE

On January 1 Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev said that the country will advance security as the chair of the OSCE in the “area from Vancouver to Vladivostok.” Kazakhstan’s government has suggested holding an informal OSCE meeting of foreign ministers in Astana in mid 2010,... MORE

On December 22, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s representative in southern Russia, Vladimir Ustinov, gave his annual speech on growing security threats in the North Caucasus, addressed to the Federation Council in Moscow. In listing the most dangerous threats to the security of the Russian Federation,... MORE