Letter From the Editors
Russia in Crisis Mode: The ‘Presumption of Trust’ and the Quest for Geopolitical Standing

FEATURED NEWS STORIES

Duma Ends Session With Frenzy of Prohibitive Laws

Russia Hosts BRICS, SCO Summits

THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Politics

One Hundred Years of Solitude
Kozlov: Russian Security Council Preparing for Protracted Standoff With the West

‘Sad Clowns’: Kremlin on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Kashin: Kremlin Taking Officials Down Path That May Test Their Faith in Putin’s Sacredness

Fifth Column in Blue Uniforms
Latynina : Contradictory Logic of Government Initiatives Shows Collapse of Internal Control

Regions

The Crimea Is Not Chechnya
Sinitsyn: Crimean Head Aksyonov Failing to Achieve Chechen Head Kadyrov’s Level of Autonomy

Nongovernmental Organizations

Dynasty and Other Undesirable Entities
Martynov: NGOs Suffer Series of Setbacks

OTHER POST-SOVIET STATES

Tajikistan

Dushanbe Puts Eurasian Economic Union on Hold
Russian, Tajik Presidents Discuss Migration Policy as Dushanbe Weighs Benefits of Joining EaEU

Ukraine

A Wave of High-Profile Exposes Sweeps Ukraine
Ivzhenko: Ukrainian PM Lashes Out at Oligarchs, Who Issue Counteraccusations in Return

Ukraine’s Special Services Start Major Purge
New USS Head Initiates Purge of Agency Ranks, Reconciliation With PGO

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

World Politics

Power, Fear and National Interests: Why Putin Needs Greece
Stanovaya: Putin Backing Greece in EU Debt Spat to Spite Brussels; His Tone Opposite on Ukraine Debt

Arms Control and Nonproliferation

Can North Korea’s Nuclear Problem Be Solved?
Vorontsov: Talks on North Korean Nuclear Program in Limbo as Participants Grow Wary of Each Other

China

Beijing Continues Far East Expansion
Sergeyev: Russia’s Regional Leadership Unperturbed About Leasing Agricultural Land to Chinese

Greece

European Oligarchy Wants to Make an Example out of Greece
Markov: Europe’s Oligarchic Bureaucratic Dictatorship Forcing Athens, Moscow to Accept Its Terms