A more plausible explanation of Russia’s propaganda offensive and increase in the numbers of both regular and irregular forces in Abkhazia is not fear of a Georgian attack, but plans for the opposite: an attempt to retake the Kodori Gorge. This would humiliate, perhaps topple, Georgia’s pro-Western president, Mikheil Saakashvili. Russia would see it as [...]

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Former president Putin initiated Russia’s move to regain “great power” status by consolidating Soviet-style control over resources, infrastructure, the economy, and security. He used the Kremlin’s full powers to quash all serious political opposition by recreating a virtual one-party state. He tapped national nostalgia by restoring former communist symbols such as the Soviet anthem and [...]

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Dmitry Medvedev may be the new president, but his predecessor is still the one with power.
We can expect a few proclamations and perhaps even token policy changes. Unfortunately, the early signs show that Medvedev’s statement about developing civil freedoms and ending “legal nihilism” were only a show for the West. Such displays are needed to [...]

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Russia’s new President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have surveyed a massive military parade in Moscow’s Red Square a day after the State Duma confirmed Putin in the premiership.
Flag-carriers from a military honour guard led the parade to mark the 63rd anniversary of Russia’s victory over Germany in World war II.
The cadets carried [...]

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When Boris Yeltsin left the Kremlin eight years ago, he gave Vladimir Putin the pen he had used to sign important documents and decrees, a gesture symbolizing the transfer of power to Russia’s new president. When Putin left the Kremlin, he took the pen with him. Putin, who became prime minister Thursday, has signaled that [...]

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Russia’s new president, Dmitry Medvedev, is stepping into the vortex of the superpowers’ race for global pre-eminence. Here are some of the challenges he faces.
NATO AND MISSILES
NATO’s readiness to give Georgia and Ukraine eventual membership has exacerbated Kremlin suspicions that the West’s goal is to surround and weaken Russia. Lately tensions have escalated along Russia’s [...]

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The European Union cannot agree over how to deal with Russia. That suits the Kremlin just fine
SEEN from outside, one might imagine that the European Union (population 495m, GDP of $16.8 trillion) was a rather intimidating neighbour for Russia (population 142m, GDP of $1.3 trillion). Yet the reality is the other way round. In recent [...]

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GEORGIA and Russia agree upon one thing: the situation in the breakaway province of Abkhazia is bad and getting worse. Georgia, an ex-Soviet republic with close links to America, says that Russia is illegally putting more troops in the region. Last week it produced video footage of what looks like a Russian warplane shooting down [...]

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Making a surprise appearance at a news conference Friday, Putin also said he was “in general satisfied with the discussion” with world leaders at the NATO summit in Bucharest, where diplomats had feared that Putin would harshly criticize their governments’ support of U.S. plans to place components of a missile-defense system in Central Europe and [...]

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It’s good business for them, but the Kremlin’s customer list is controversial: Venezuela, Iran, and China have received shipments.
For President Vladimir Putin, reviving defense exports is a good way to boost international respect for Russia. He also considers it good business. Russian arms sales have risen steadily since 2001, the year after Putin came to [...]

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