The Russian military is being increasingly tasked with countering terrorism within the Russian Federation, in an attempt to increase security and strengthen the state's capacity to respond to and effectively combat terrorism. This shift is reflected in many of the security measures announced by Defense... MORE

Several hundred leftist demonstrators marked the eleventh anniversary of the so-called "October Events" of October 3-4, 1993. A group estimated by police at no more than 100, made up of members of Viktor Anpilov's Working Russia party and the equally radical Union of Officers, gathered... MORE

As the Kremlin continues strengthening its "power vertical," the West appears to be stepping up its criticism of the Putin administration, accusing Russia of moving in the wrong direction. Numerous Russian "hawks" say the Western reaction only reveals the Euro-Atlantic community's perfidious designs on Russia.... MORE

An interview published on September 29 with a key adviser to President Vladimir Putin, deputy presidential administration chief Vladislav Surkov, has elicited comment from a number of Russian observers. Komsomolskaya pravda, which conducted the interview, noted that President Putin had declared in his speech following... MORE

President Vladimir Putin's September 13 package of reforms to centralize political power was met with consternation by outside observers, who see it as a rollback of democratization in Russia. Independent observers inside Russia were also baffled. They had long lost any illusions about democracy, but... MORE

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was certainly in his element at the UN General Assembly last week, packing a full schedule of meetings and delivering a hard-hitting speech. Admittedly, he had little to say about the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur, the deepening gap between rich... MORE

While the murder of a businessman is hardly news in Russia, the death of the head of a private security company in St. Petersburg on September 24 has raised eyebrows. According to press reports, Roman Tsepov, general director of the Baltik-Eskort private security firm, had... MORE

With seven CIS member governments in tow, Russia has renewed its campaign to "reform" the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Moscow's two-fold goal is to use OSCE mechanisms in ways that would increase Russian clout on post-Soviet countries and promote "all-European" security arrangements... MORE

Forty-eight percent of Russians polled by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) have expressed disagreement with the centerpiece of President Vladimir Putin's recently announced plan to centralize political power. Asked whether they agreed with the president's proposal to do away with... MORE

In an apparent attempt to break the strategic deadlock now governing Russia's policies in Georgia and Moldova, some Moscow political pundits advocate a speedy recognition of the secessionist regions of South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Trans-Dniester. To justify such a move, they advise putting the problem... MORE