On Monday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation for the second time with the intention to bring the curtain down on the coup attempt by Wagner “founder” Yevgeny Prigozhin on June 23-24. It was quintessentially a self-congratulatory speech — well-deserved, perhaps. The speech had four principal elements. First, …
Read More »What Prigozhin’s Half-Baked “Coup” Could Mean for Putin’s Rule
Although the immediate threat of revolt has been extinguished, the episode may embolden future challengers to Russia’s status quo. Late last week, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, launched a mutiny against the Russian state and began an armed march on Moscow. A day later, it was all …
Read More »Russia’s Periphery Takes Note of Putin’s Sudden Weakness
In Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Wagner rebellion has exposed Russia’s fragility. The New York Times called it Russia’s “36-hour rebellion,” as if the weekend’s shattering events could be confined to a day and a half. Even if Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin called off his group’s march on …
Read More »No Return for Yevgeny Prigozhin—or Russia
The regime is driven by ideas of supremacy and messianism, nationalism and imperialism. In this respect, there is no difference between Putin and his inner circle and Prigozhin.A version of this article first appeared in Russian in the New Times. “Treason doth never prosper, what’s the reason? For if it …
Read More »Geography, Bureaucracy, And National Security: The Legacies Of The Cold War And Post-Cold War Periods – Analysis
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant global upheaval, particularly in the form of fragmented supply chains. This was followed by the Taliban’s success in Afghanistan in August 2021, Russia’s intensification of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and China’s announcement in 2023 that the world is experiencing a geopolitical …
Read More »Tajik citizen Shamil Hukumatov, one of IS-Khorasan leaders arrested in Istanbul – Turkish media
In Istanbul, Tajik citizen Shamil Hukumatov, one of the leaders of the Khorasan cell of the Islamic State (IS-Khorasan) group, was arrested. Turkish media on June 22 reported that Hukumatov, also known as “Abu Miskin.” engaged in the recruitment of new militants for IG-Khorasan. Shamil Hukumatov was detained on Thursday …
Read More »French terrorist among PKK members who surrendered to Türkiye
The PKK’s recruitment of new members from Europe is under the spotlight again as a man who surrendered reveals that he joined the terrorist group in France and stayed in a Greek camp before being enrolled in their bloody campaign in northern Iraq Confessions of a PKK terrorist who chose …
Read More »Five suspected ISIS militants killed in Kirkuk: Iraqi military
The Iraqi forces in Kirkuk on Sunday announced that they had killed five suspected ISIS militants in an operation, according to a press release. Wearing “explosive belts”, three members of the group were killed in the Turkalan area in southwestern Kirkuk by the Iraqi Army’s Eighth Division soldiers, a statement …
Read More »The Race For Balkan Influence Amid Serbia-Kosovo Tensions – Analysis
With Recep Tayyip Erdogan securing another five years in power, the Turkish president is seeking to increase Turkiye’s influence in the Balkans — a region that was part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. Spiking tensions in northern Kosovo present such an opportunity. Although southeastern Europe remains firmly in America’s …
Read More »US: Prigozhin Rebellion Against Moscow Shows ‘Very Serious Cracks’ In Putin’s Rule
The United States said Sunday that the brief rebellion of mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin against Russia’s military leadership shows “very serious cracks” in the two-decade rule of President Vladimir Putin and “questions the very premise” of his 16-month war against Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC’s “This …
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