The Duma Districts: Key to Putin’s Power
When politicians hit the campaign trail and Russians prepare to vote for a new parliament (the Duma), Western attention is invariably drawn to the familiar and colorful competition among parties seeking…
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Russia
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The Structures of Chechnya’s Quagmire
The current situation in Iraq in the aftermath of the invasion by British and U.S. forces made many analysts pay closer attention to the problems facing the Russian forces in Chechnya. Rather…
Reducing the Risk of Accidental Launch: Time for a New Approach?
Ten years ago, on January 25, 1995, a sounding rocket launched from a test site in Norway was detected by radars of the Russian early-warning network. The details of what followed have…
Security Sell-Out in the North Caucasus, 2004: How Government Centralization Backfires
With the horrors of the September 2004 school hostage massacre in Beslan (North Ossetia) very much in the Russians’ hearts and minds, the Kremlin announced sweeping reforms to strengthen central…
The Russian Navy after the Kursk: Still Proud but with Poor Navigation
Raising the giant Russian nuclear submarine Kursk after it sank on August 12, 2000, in the Barents Sea and then delivering it safely to dry dock at Roslyakovo, near Murmansk,…
The United States’ Northern Dimension? Prospects for a U.S.-Russian Cooperative Agenda in Northern Europe
The recent terrorist attacks against the United States and the dramatic developments in the Middle East have diverted public attention from other regions where dynamic and impressive changes are occurring,…
NATO, Russia, and the Baltic States
After the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Russian president Vladimir Putin was the first foreign leader to phone President George W. Bush to express his condolences. This…
Russia and the World Trade Organization
Since 1993 Russia has been negotiating to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), which with 144 members is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing clubs. With the successful conclusion…
The End of Strategic Arms Control?
An overview of the arms control field today gives a contradictory picture. On one hand, the United States and Russia are very upbeat about their relationship and claim that they…
Pension Reform In Russia: From the Politics of Implementation to the Politics of Lawmaking?
Under President Boris Yeltsin, the politics of economic transformation was a politics of implementation, not of lawmaking. The decisions of bureaucrats, whether motivated by corruption or public spirit, counted for…