On May 29, the Norilsk-based CHPP-3 combined heat and power plant, owned by the Norilsk-Taimyr Energy Company (a member of the Norilsk Nickel Group conglomerate), suffered the loss of a diesel fuel tank, resulting in a spill of approximately 21,000 tons of fuel. The disaster,... MORE

As the tanks rolled off Moscow’s Red Square last Wednesday (June 24), the Russian propaganda machine instantly switched from glorifying extra-modern militarism to trumpeting the next pivotal political event—the public vote on the package of amendments to the constitution, which began on June 25 and... MORE

Moldova is experiencing a phenomenon that deserves to be termed Plahotniucism without Plahotniuc; at least not up front. From distant safe havens, the fugitive former ruler Vladimir Plahotniuc and his fellow-billionaire Ilan Shor are widely believed, with a high degree of plausibility, to be financing... MORE

The Russian authorities and some environmental groups in Poland and Germany have opposed the digging of a canal across the southern, Polish portion of the Vistula Spit since the idea was first proposed in 2004. But now the project, slated to be complete by 2022,... MORE

President Vladimir Putin has transformed the May 9 military parade on Moscow’s Red Square, which commemorates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in May 1945, into a grand public relations extravaganza. In Soviet times, the main annual military parade occurred on November 7—the anniversary of... MORE

Author’s Note: What follows corrects an article I wrote for Jamestown on Tuesday. I was misinformed by several sources I trusted and am glad to say that my conclusions about what is taking place at RFE/RL were incorrect. My argument that we must not do... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here.   The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) has regulated the current status quo in Antarctica since it came into force in 1961. However, the ATS regime is set to expire in 2048, and some actors, including Russia, have been... MORE

Despite the global coronavirus pandemic, Moscow is taking steps to modify its combat training and military exercises as well as further strengthen the Western Military District (MD) amid tensions with the Transatlantic alliance. Following a recent online meeting of defense ministers of the North Atlantic... MORE

In early May 2020, media reports highlighted the construction of a large hydropower system composed of the Khudafarin and Qiz Qalasi (Maiden Tower) hydropower plants as well as hydro junctions and related facilities and bridges on the Aras River, which follows part of the border... MORE

Relations between Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have long been complicated, sometimes even uncertain. From hopes for membership after the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, to effectively declaring Ukraine neutral during Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency; from the reactivation of a Euro-Atlantic integration course... MORE