Section: The Jamestown Foundation (USA)
The Meaning of Russia’s Naval Deployments in the Mediterranean
Russian ships equipped with the advanced sea-launched Kalibr cruise missile will now be perpetually present in the Mediterranean Sea as part of Moscow’s naval operations connected to the mission in Syria. This is according to Admiral Aleksandr Vitko, the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) (RIA Novosti, February 19)....
Fighting to Survive Budget Contraction, Kremlin Tries to Fix Oil Prices
On March 1, President Vladimir Putin gathered the CEOs of Russia’s oil majors in the Kremlin to discuss a possible freeze of crude production to boost oil prices. Oil is Russia’s main export commodity and the main source of state revenue. Putin commended the “healthy state of the oil industry”—in 2015, Russia increased oil production...
Eurasian Union’s Expansion Falters Amid Russia’s Economic Woes
In a recent interview with the media, Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Pankratov, whose portfolio includes overseeing the country’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), reported that the Kyrgyz Republic’s accession (as of August 12, 2015) to this Russian-led trading bloc has so far produced mixed results....
Uzbekistan Achieves Railroad Independence
Twenty-five years after gaining its political independence, Uzbekistan has become “railway independent,” with its residents now able to travel between one part of their Central Asian republic to another, by rail, without crossing into another country—in this case, Tajikistan. On April 15, a new 123.1-kilometer line, including a 19.1-kilometer...
Russia’s Application of Military Power in Syria
Moscow’s use of military power in Syria differs from its pursuit of warfare in Georgia in August 2008, or more recently in Ukraine. This appears to be confirmed by a comparison of the force sizes deployed in Georgia and Syria, as well as the use versus avoidance of ground forces in the two conflicts. Commentaries by Russian military...
Belarus Prepares to Adopt New Military Doctrine
In recent months, military affairs have featured high on the political and media agendas in Belarus. The House of Representatives of the National Assembly (the parliament’s lower chamber) is soon expected to consider and pass a new updated version of the country’s military doctrine. The current one has stayed unchanged since 2002. On...
A Lost Year for Russia
It is the dubious ceasefire in Syria that keeps Russia in the focus of global media attention these days, as if the outcome of this catastrophic civil war actually depends upon Russian bombs falling here or there. President Vladimir Putin has not committed to anything binding because he has always claimed that only the Islamic State and other...
Berlin and Paris Soften up Kyiv Ahead of ‘Decisive’ Normandy Meeting
In Kyiv, on February 22–23, with a working visit, German Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier portrayed the “Normandy” group’s upcoming March 3 meeting in Paris as a make-or-break event, designed to overcome the diplomatic deadlock over “the Ukraine crisis.” The diplomatic process is stuck in a crisis of its own, Steinmeier...
Ukrainian Says No Elections Without Full Security in Donetsk-Luhansk
Negotiations in the Minsk Contact Group on political issues are so configured as to push Ukraine into recognizing the Moscow-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” (DPR, LPR), first de facto and then de jure, through local elections and a “special status.” For its part, Ukraine shows increasing tenacity in resisting that push....
Why Sanctions Against Belarus Could Not Stand
The removal of the sanctions on Belarus by the European Union continues to be one of the most debated topics in the Belarusian media. The most meaningful piece about sanctions, however, has arguably shown up not in Belarus but in the Russian daily Izvestia (Izvestia, February 16). The article was written by a Minsk-born-and-raised ethnic...
