Latest Articles about Middle East
DISENTANGLING THE MOSCOW-BERLIN AXIS: FOLLOW THE MONEY
Russian foreign policy under Vladimir Putin’s presidency has been generally undetermined and often opportunistic with only one constant: strategic partnership with Germany. This country definitely occupies the central place in Putin’s worldview: those several years he spent in the KGB’s Dresden office in the mid-1980s... MORE
KREMLIN ENVOY SAYS BRUSSELS IS A DIFFICULT PARTNER
On July 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed veteran diplomat Vladimir Chizhov to be Russia's permanent representative at the European Union. Assessing his new role, the Kremlin envoy conceded that the recently expanded EU had become a tougher partner for Moscow. But Chizhov himself is... MORE
SAKHALIN ENERGY PROJECTS FACE REALITY CHECK
As the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Russian Far East faces cost overruns and delays, now Russian Sakhalin ventures appear to be facing a reality check, cooling Moscow's ambitious plans to tap lucrative energy markets in the Asia-Pacific. Earlier this month,... MORE
CORRUPTION UNDERMINES RUSSIAN MILITARY REFORM
High-profile efforts by Russia's authorities to promote a positive image of military reform, notably its efforts to switch more divisions to contract service, are being undermined by allegations of financial corruption within the military. These allegations have become commonplace in post-Soviet coverage of the Russian... MORE
Zarqawi’s declining ideological support among Islamists
In the wake of the kidnapping and assassination of the Egyptian ambassador to Baghdad, Ihab al-Sherif, condemnation for the military policies of al-Qaeda in Iraq came from an unexpected source. The two major militant Islamist organizations in Egypt, al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya and al-Gihad, launched an attack... MORE
Al-Qaeda extends threats to journalists and intellectuals outside Iraq
On July 17, al-Qaeda in Iraq issued a death threat to the Egyptian author Dr. Sayyid Mahmud al-Qimny, famous for his historical and anthropological works examining critically the origins of Islam. The text of the threatening letter, given in a report by the Arabic liberal... MORE
REBIRTH OF AGITPROP: RUSSIA’S SPENDING ON PATRIOTIC PROPAGANDA WILL TRIPLE
On July 18, the Russian government adopted a special federal program of patriotic education that will promote national and state values through the year 2010. The blueprint was reportedly lobbied by Russia's siloviki -- the omnipotent representatives of the defense and security agencies -- and... MORE
RUSSIA BOOSTING GAS EXPORT CAPACITY TO EUROPE
Russia's Gazprom is moving rapidly to preempt potential competitors on European markets, far outpacing the European Union's development of a supply-diversification strategy. Gazprom will soon complete the first trunk line of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline and is set to embark on the North European gas... MORE
MOSCOW BOOSTS SECURITY IN THE FAR EAST
From July 18 to 24, Russia is holding large-scale military maneuvers aimed at countering potential terrorist attacks in its Far East region. However, since terrorists have not yet really targeted Russia's Far East, the drill is understood to have other purposes as well. The drill,... MORE
MOSCOW HARDENS TONE TO WASHINGTON ON CENTRAL ASIA
Two new terms, loaded with adversarial connotations, made their appearance in Moscow's discourse on Central Asia, in the context of demands to set a deadline on the use of military bases in that region by U.S.-led forces (see EDM, July 6, 7). Elaborating on that... MORE