Monday night/early Tuesday morning several major battles took place in the Russian Republic of Ingushetia where up to 200 rebels launched a major raid. The bulk of the fighting was in the town of Nazran (a city of...
AndyOperation Bagration
What was the most important military operation of June 1944? Not Operation Overlord (D-Day), but Operation Bagration, says Mike Davis. The operation began on 19 June 2004, when …a Soviet guerrilla army emerged...
What to do when the water runs cold
The first thing I ever bought in Irkutsk was an electric kettle. It was the best thing I ever bought. Not because it could make a mean cup of chai (although it could). But because it was my shower. Oh, I had a real...
Trading oil for influence
Russia is now the worlds largest producer of oil. Which is certainly nice for Russia, which is turning a tidy profit on the back of oil prices in excess of $40 per barrel. Russia currently has a 10% market share –...
Congratulations
Terek Grozny have become the first football team from outside the top division to win the Russian Cup. Their shock 1-0 victory over Krylya Sovietov Samara means that they will represent Russia in next season’s...
Russia meddles in US elections
Carlos Watson, over at CNN, reckons that Russia may be about to give George W Bush a helping hand in both Iraq, and the upcoming Presidential elections. Putin, whose powers seem almost dictatorial, could probably push...
Russian border guards told to be more ‘smiley’
In response to criticism Russian border guards have been told to be more courteous to travellers in future. The orders were issued by Colonel General Vladimir Pronichev, head of the border guard service, after...
Human rights – how to do it right
Robert Kaplan has an article in the July/August 2003 issue of Atlantic Monthly where he discusses how the American military builds relations around the world at a tactical level. Its all worth reading, but one section...
Amnesty Report – Russia
Amnesty International published its annual report today. The Russia Summary makes depressing reading. I’ve posted them both below for comparison, but the only real changes I could pick out were negative. The...
Wars nobody has ever heard of, Part 1043
Everyone knows about the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5. Russia sailed its entire Baltic fleet to Japan the long way around only to see it sunk by the better trained Japanese navy within hours. The war marked...