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Bruce K. Anderson

~ Security, National Defense and U.S. Interests at Home and Abroad

Bruce K. Anderson

Category Archives: Russia

CSTO Exercises Tiptoe Around Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict

20 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in Caucasus, European News, Foreign Policy, Military and Defense, Russia

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Armenia, Caucasus, Central Asia, Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Military exercise, Russia

 

Political Map of the Caucasus and Central Asia

Political Map of the Caucasus and Central Asia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

By Joshua Kucera, The Bug Pit (Eurasianet), September 20, 2012

 

The Collective Security Treaty Organization has wrapped up its annual military exercises, held this year in Armenia, with the group’s general secretary saying the group needs to create its own military forces, including air forces, in Central Asia. But at a time of heightened tensions in the Caucasus, the drills took a relatively low profile… (more) http://ow.ly/2sgQSy 

 

Related articles
  • Post-Soviet military alliance hold drills (upi.com)
  • Russian Defense Minister to visit Armenia (panarmenian.net)
  • Experts on Caucasus-2012 drills: Russia warns Azerbaijan against war (panarmenian.net)

 

Russian Military Starts Maneuvers Near Dushanbe

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in European News, Foreign Policy, Military and Defense, Russia

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Military exercise, military training, Russia, Tajikistan

 

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, September 19, 2012

Russian troops have started tactical military exercises at Russia’s Lyaur military test field near the Tajik capital, Dushanbe… (more) ow.ly/1mww3d 

Related articles
  • Russian Military Delegation Discusses Future Of Tajik Bases (rferl.org)
  • Tajikistan Russia Reportedly Come To Agreement On 201st Russian Base In Dushanbe (therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com)
  • RFE/RL Reporters Detained During Protests in Dushanbe (rferl.org)
  • U.S. and Russia in a new standoff (phantomreport.com)

 

Russia’s Caucasus War Games

18 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in Caucasus, European News, Foreign Policy, Military and Defense, Russia

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Armenia, Caucasus, Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Russians, Tajikistan

 

Administrative map of Caucasus in USSR, 1957-1991

Administrative map of Caucasus in USSR, 1957-1991 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Every time Russia comes to play war in the Caucasus, a sense of alert spreads in the neighborhood. And it does not help if the Russians are running around with guns for two separate war games at the same time… (more) ow.ly/1mvgzzBy Giorgi Lomsadze, Eurasianet, September 18, 2012

 

Related:

 

CSTO Joint Military Maneuvers Continue In Armenia

 

Related articles

 

  • CSTO Stages Military Exercises In Armenia (rferl.org)
  • Iran Attack Could Spark Caucasus War And Economic Trouble! (socioecohistory.wordpress.com)
  • Defense Ministry: Armenia didn’t specify dates for CSTO maneuvers (panarmenian.net)

RFERL: Does Russia-Georgia-War Film Signal A Rift Between Putin And Medvedev?

11 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in Caucasus, European News, Military and Defense, Russia

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

2008 South Ossetia war, Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, Georgia, Russia, South Ossetia, Vladimir Putin, Yuri Baluyevsky

 

By Robert Coalson, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, August 10, 2012

 

English: Map of the South Ossetia war

Map of the South Ossetia war (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

A slickly produced film featuring some leading Russian military figures who accuse then-President Dmitry Medvedev of indecisiveness on the eve of Russia’s brief August 2008 war with Georgia continues to produce shockwaves among the country’s political elite… (more) ow.ly/1lUEEx 

 

Related articles
  • Was Putin in charge during Georgia war? Medvedev begs to differ. (csmonitor.com)
  • Putin, Medvedev Ratings Slide as Rift Threatens to Split Tandem – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
  • Medvedev accused of flinching during Georgia war (thehindu.com)
  • Putin Says Russia Had Plans For Georgian ‘Aggression’ In Late 2006 (rferl.org)
  • Georgia and Russia mark anniversary of South Ossetia War (euronews.com)

 

Estonian worries about Russian moves in the Baltic region

05 Saturday May 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in European News, Military and Defense, Russia

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Estonia, Iskander, Kaliningrad, Russia

Locator map of the Baltic region – Estonia, La...

Locator map of the Baltic region – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and the russian Kaliningrad Oblast. Deutsch: Lagekarte des Baltikums – Estland, Lettland, Litauen und Oblast Kaliningrad. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some Estonian officials are raising warnings about changes to the Russian units and weapons in the Baltic region, such as the Iskander missiles and S-400 anti-aircraft weapon system recently stationed in Kaliningrad, suggesting that it is part of a more aggressive Russian strategy for the region.

Estonian Ministry Document Warns of Russian Military Expansion

Meanwhile other Estonian officials say not to worry, it’s modernization and not really a threat.

Retired Estonian General Brushes Off Fears Over Russian Military Activity

 

Focus on Europe: Russia (April 11, 2012)

11 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in European News, Foreign Policy, Military and Defense, Russia

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Israel, NATO, Russia, Syria, Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin

Ten articles today on Russia, ranging from the mundane to the bizarre.

I’ll start with the bizarre, or at least surprising, story from Business Insider. It says that Russian troops are massing near the border to the Republic of Georgia, ready to move to Armenia to respond to any Israeli and/or U.S. attack on Iran. I say the article is bizarre because this is the only article (picked up by a number of sites, I must admit) I’ve seen about this. Maybe it’s a huge scoop.

I also found an interesting Christian Science Monitor story about Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin and the challenges he’ll face at home and abroad as soon as he takes office on may 7.

Here is article on Russia’s “willingness” to talk with Syrian opposition groups and here is an opinion piece on Russia’s (and China’s) “victory” on the Syrian issue and how that signals America’s decline.

Russia is apparently busy on the rocket and missile front, as suggested by three DefenceTalk articles on various Russian weapons systems: S-400 Missiles deployed in Russia’s Baltic Fleet, a new thermobaric rocket, and the S-500, a new generation surface-to-air missile system.

Atlantic Sentinel, via Wikistrat, has an interesting story on a Baltic port to be built for shipping oil from the Urals.

Moscow Times has a report on ongoing unrest, at least among Russia’s communists and other opposition groups, about the Russian government’s plan to let NATO use a Russian airport to help move people and equipment out of Afghanistan.

And for the mundane, but also a bit odd – the German sports clothing company Adidas has been fined for late delivery of sports uniforms and shoes to the Russian Army, according to this report by Europe Online.

Related articles
  • Focus on Europe: Russia (brucekanderson.com)

Focus on Europe: Russia

10 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in European News, Russia

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Iran, Missile Defense, Russia, Syria

Vladimir Putin, President-elect of Russia.

Three articles on Russia today. All relate to Russia’s relations with the west, and come from different but related angles.

In an opinion piece at DemocracyArsenal.org, analyst Eric Auner lays out his arguments for the strategic sense in the U.S.’s cooperating with Russia on missile defense.

A Chicago Tribune story by John T. Bennet makes the argument that Russia’s huge revenue stream from oil and natural gas supports Vladimir Putin‘s ability to flex Russia’s foreign affairs muscles, disrupting western efforts with Iran, Syria, and North Korea, and the U.S.’s efforts to develop a missile shield in Europe. The article says Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter and the ninth-leading natural gas exporter.

The third article of note is a post on NATOSource, quoting from a RIA Novosti story, about a Russian guided-missile destroyer operating out of the Syrian port of Tartus – one of Russia’s only bases outside of its own territory (if you don’t count Kaliningrad, which was carved out of Poland at the end of WWII so Russia could have a Baltic Sea port that doesn’t freeze over).
The destroyer is the latest in a series of Russian ships from its Black Sea fleet to visit or operate out of Tartus. A not terribly subtle reminder of Russia’s interest in developments in Syria.

Russia reportedly suspends missile threat

08 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in European News, Military and Defense, Russia

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Kaliningrad, Missile Defense, Poland, Russia

The Russians are apparently backing off from their threat to place ground-to-air missiles in Kaliningrad, the enclave the Soviets carved out of Poland as a condition of ending their occupation at the end of the Cold War.

No clear word on why the Russians are holding off. But…

According to the report, “Interfax cited the military official as saying the Iskander plan has been suspended because the new U.S. administration is not so far pushing for deployment of the missile shield.”

Or, maybe the missiles don’t work as claimed, maybe there aren’t enough spare parts, etc…

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28888880/#.T4GzZftzVWU

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