Putin On Parade

This May’s parade in Moscow to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II promises to be the greatest Victory Day celebration since the Soviet Union’s collapse. Some 16,000 soldiers, 200 armored vehicles, and 150 planes and helicopters are set to pass through and over Red Square. It will be a scene […]

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The Central Asian Constant

Like the last few elections, there were no surprises in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, with the two incumbents widely expected to seize around 90 percent of the votes as soon as the elections were announced. Karimov confirmed expectations with 90.39 percent, while Nazarbayev did even better with 97.7 percent of the votes. Read Here – The […]

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Straight From Shakespeare’s Pen

Welcome to Uzbekistan, a country that in recent months has been home to a drama that could have come straight from Shakespeare’s pen. Playing the leading roles are: a dictator, who has had his country under his iron grip for a quarter-century; his glamorous daughter, who he had been grooming as his successor; and his […]

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Cold War II

It looks like a new Cold War between Russia and the West is inevitable, even if the conflict in Ukraine remains “frozen” in its current form until at least this summer. It became clear one year ago with the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in eastern Ukraine that Russia’s relations with Europe — and especially with the United States — would not remain the same as before. […]

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It’s About The System, Not A Few Bad Apples

Xi Jinping is no Gorbachev. He presides over an economy that is still growing rapidly, a population whose expectations continue to rise, and a political elite that has not yet lost faith in itself and in its right to rule.  But, like Gorbachev, in his zeal to defeat his opponents and bolster the questionable legitimacy of […]

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Empire Of Conspiracy

Unfortunately, conspiracy theories are still a part of Russia’s political discourse. The idea of “subversive agents’ supported by the West was crucial for smearing dissident voices within the Soviet Union, while the conspiratorial perception of the U.S. was a central tenet of state ideology. Read Here – Moscow Times

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Does Russia Have A Plan B For Ukraine?

The West and Moscow are currently basing their actions not on a game plan worked out in advance, but are only reacting to a situation that is deteriorating and becoming more and more unpredictable. They are turning into hostages of this situation and their emotions.   Read Here – Moscow Times

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Great Neighbours, Great Powers

While there is considerable room for debate over the future extent of Sino-Russian relations (a formal alliance looks far from likely), it is worth considering the potential geopolitical implications of a growing entente between the two Great Powers. In no short measure, close alignment between Beijing and Moscow would accelerate the decline of U.S. relative power […]

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