The August 2008 war between Georgia and Russia briefly catapulted the tiny Caucasian republic onto newspapers’ front pages worldwide before swiftly returning it to its former status as an international affairs backwater. So few paid attention when, on October 15, the Georgian parliament overwhelmingly approved constitutional amendments that will transfer most governmental authority from the [...]

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BUCHAREST — On June 5, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev signed a brief but significant memorandum on a joint EU-Russia Committee on Security and Foreign Policy (ERPSC) in the German town of Meseberg. The document proposes to “explore” the creation of a ministerial-level committee to be chaired by the EU High [...]

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WASHINGTON – In his new national security strategy, Barack Obama defined his tenure as a transitional presidency that will leave Cold War thinking behind in order to adjust U.S. policy to the realities of a multipolar world. But as far as Russia is concerned, not everyone seems to be convinced that the Cold War really [...]

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BRUSSELS — A specter is starting to haunt wider Europe — those countries located between the EU and NATO on one hand and Russia on the other.     That specter is “Finlandization.”   The return of this Cold War phrase reveals much about the changing spirit of the times and geopolitics of European security [...]

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BUCHAREST — On May 9, the streets of Moscow will witness a rare and memorable spectacle. In a parade marking the 65th anniversary of Victory Day – the end of World War II, when Germany surrendered to Soviet commanders – 10,500 servicemen will march through Moscow for this special celebration, accompanied by 150 military vehicles. [...]

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WASHINGTON, DC — On the eve of this week’s Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and NATO Ministerial meetings, in addition to a NATO-Russia Council gathering, Russian officials unveiled their long-awaited proposal for a new European Security Treaty.   The Medvedev proposal, as it has become known, has been the subject of considerable [...]

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BRUSSELS — President Obama’s shelving of the Bush administration’s missile defense plans makes sense in addressing the immediate Iranian threat. It has nevertheless created a crisis of confidence in Central and Eastern Europe.   The crisis’ roots lie in policy mistakes made over the course of the past decade. One was assuming that the issue [...]

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NOTE: This is an informational compilation. GMF does not endorse, either explicitly or implicitly, the content contained herein.   NEWS   In Wake of Georgian War, Russian Media Feel Heat Washington Post (U.S.), Philip P. Pan, 15 Sep 2008 Summary: “The message to the 30 or so media executives at the gathering was clear: With [...]

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NOTE: This is an informational compilation. GMF does not endorse, either explicitly or implicitly, the content contained herein.   NEWS   Putin tells Britain: relations can only improve when you remove dissidents The Times (UK), Richard Beeston, 12 Sep 2008 Summary: “Vladimir Putin served notice yesterday that his country’s relations with Britain would never recover [...]

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NOTE: This is an informational compilation. GMF does not endorse, either explicitly or implicitly, the content contained herein.   NEWS   S. Ossetia Sends Russia Mixed Signals New York Times (U.S.), Ellen Barry and Alan Cowell, 11 Sep 2008 Summary: “The leader of Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia region, the focus of Russia’s war with Georgia [...]

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