It was 1962 and the world had been dragged to the verge of disaster, where it remained, precariously-balanced, for thirteen – seemingly never-ending – days. Fast forwarding to half a century later, it is 2015 and it is impossible not to notice how the hard-learned lesson of the Cuban Missile Crisis appears to have been forgotten. Although…

Moscow has been moving closer to Beijing in the last couple of years and making a concerted effort to “pivot to Asia” in light of Russia’s deteriorating relations with the West. While other powers in the Asia-Pacific region such as U.S. and Japan have had a strategic interest in cross-strait relations (i.e. relations between China…

June 26 was a day of profound significance and not just because of the landmark, U.S. Supreme Court  decision legalizing gay marriage, or the president’s eulogy for black worshippers massacred by a white racist in a South Carolina church.  Unlike in Great Britain, tri-continental attacks by Islamic fascists on this day have neither…

via Leksika



Reinforcing Economic Ties
After last weekend’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), economic activity by Western companies in Russia appears to have been reinforced. Among the attendees of the event, major European and American companies’ strong presence provides insight into the divergence of political…

Serbia was placed in a difficult position after member countries of the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia. The sanctions were imposed as the retribution for Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its alleged participation in Ukrainian crisis. These sanctions, however, are not hurting only Russia’s economy, but Serbia’s European…

Just a few days ago the European Union has confirmed that the economic sanctions against the Russian Federation were extended for another year, or specifically up to 19th January 2016. Despite attempts to minimize the perceived impact of this policy on the economy of the EU in the eyes of the public opinion, the price being paid to pursue this power…

Russia's role on te Post-Soviet space   Disintegration of the Soviet Union, political and economic crisis, colorful revolutions in the former soviet republics,  EU expansion to the East - these factors substantially weakened positions of Russia on the Post Soviet space in the beginning of the 2000th years and created new chalenges for the…

 What happened in July 2002  reminds me of  December 1979 Afghanistan.  Then, Russian Chief of the General Staff Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov heatedly and fervently objected to the fateful decision to invade Afghanistan. “We will turn all of eastern Islam against us,” he prophesied.  “Mind your own business…

It was widely speculated that the exclusion of Russia from leading industrial countries would result into an almost unresolved conflict between Russia and NATO nations. The recent G-7 Summit, if seen in the perspective of bilateral economic and strategic developments between Russia and China, was expected to become instrumental for mounting…

If remembered at all, the Bavarian G-7 Summit will likely be recalled for the entertainment value it created, offering a platform for the “leader of the free world” to deliver a personal attack on the character of the “leader of the evil empire.”
Social media losing credibility as diplomatic tool
According to the Guardian, U…

A Sensible Grading of Obama’s Middle East Strategy, As Opposed to Republican Nonsense: Part I: Introduction, Muslim World Reset, Iraq, Israel/Palestine
 
If you can’t understand that Obama’s overall Middle East strategy is starting to work, you don’t know what you’re talking about
 
By Brian E. Frydenborg…

Today, Russia still lags behind most other European countries in terms of penetration, with roughly half of the adult population connected. Russia is catching up quickly however, with average annual growth in Internet users exceeding 10% over the last few years. In September 2011, Russia overtook Germany as the market with the largest number of unique…