Letter From the Editors
Questioning/Unquestioning Loyalty: A Gaggle of Alliances, Coalitions and Parties
FEATURED NEWS STORIES
Duma Elections Bolster United Russia, Putin
THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
State and Law
Intrusive Affairs Ministry
Kommersant Sources: Plans Call for Expanding FSB Into New Ministry of State Security
What’s Behind the Rumors About a State Security Ministry
Recent Purge of Law-Enforcement Officials Sets Stage for an Ultra-Powerful Security Ministry
The Economy
Russia: Getting a Boost
Anticrisis Measures Have Helped Bolster Domestic Economy Despite Western Sanctions
Forward to Stagnation
Medvedev’s Meeting With Kudrin Suggests Tough Reforms, Hard Times Ahead
OTHER POST-SOVIET STATES
Belarus
Lukashenko Threatens to Pull the Plug on Eurasian Integration
Lukashenko Attempting to Blackmail Moscow With Threats to Curtail Eurasian Integration
Ukraine
“The Crimea Will Have to Wait”
New US Ambassador’s Remarks Indicate Kiev Shouldn’t Bank on Getting Crimea Back
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Military Affairs
No End in Sight for Russia’s Baltic Tit-for-tat
NATO, Russia Engaged in Dangerous Game of Chicken in Eastern Europe
Europe
EU Goes Marching In
EU’s Idée Fixe of Creating Its Own Army Is Doomed From the Start
Bratislava EU Summit: Remembrance of Things Past
Post-Brexit EU Summit Highlights Contrary Attitudes About Future European Integration