Apologies for the lack of activity on this blog. I am currently in the process of my move from the UK to the USA, winding up my affairs here and generally busy with logistics of every kind. Normal service will resume in the New Year, once I am settled.
All posts by Mark Galeotti
(Temporarily) Lost in Transition!
Posted by Mark Galeotti on December 8, 2008
https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/temporarily-lost-in-transition/
Who is Yunus-Bek Yevkurov?
No one is likely to mourn the departure of Murat Zyazikov from the position of president of the volatile North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia. But the Kremlin’s choice of a successor has come as something of a surprise: Colonel Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, a gung-ho paratroop officer with no political experience or profile, no power base in the republic and – seemingly – no great enthusiasm for the job.
Posted by Mark Galeotti on November 1, 2008
https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/who-is-yunus-bek-yevgurov/
New guns for Russia’s cops – so what?
A piece of news which might seem of interest only to the gun-nut and the real obsessive actually has rather greater significance: the Russian police are phasing out their old Makarov pistols and Kalashnikov rifles with new weapons.
So what? (more…)
Posted by Mark Galeotti on October 23, 2008
https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/10/23/new-guns-for-russias-cops-so-what/
‘Contract killing is a continuation of business by other means’
It goes against the grain, but sometimes – rarely – I feel Putin and the Russian security apparatus deserve to be given the benefit of the doubt. On 6 October, the interesting but often-sensationalist Russian newspaper Novaya gazeta ran an article ‘Registered Speciality – the Killer’ which claimed that the Russian spetsluzhby, the security agencies, now routinely murder enemies of the Kremlin. The author, Novaya gazeta’s military affairs editor Vyacheslav Izmailov, pulls together a varied collection of killings and kidnappings and asserts that the same sinister hand is behind them all.
Posted by Mark Galeotti on October 11, 2008
https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/10/11/contract-killing-is-a-continuation-of-business-by-other-means/
Russia Ready For Meaningful Military Reform. Again. Really.
On Friday 26 September, President Medvedev used a meeting in Orenburg with military district commanders during the Centre-2008 exercises to make his latest statements about defence modernisation. The headlines were made by his pledge to revamp Russia’s strategic arsenal: “A guaranteed nuclear deterrent system for various military and political circumstances must be provided by 2020.” However, he promised modernisation across the board: “We must ensure air superiority, precision strikes on land and sea targets, the timely deployment of troops. We are planning to launch large-scale production of warships, primarily, nuclear submarines with cruise missiles and multi-purpose attack submarines… We will also build an air and space defence network.”
On the face of it, this all sounds like news. (more…)
Posted by Mark Galeotti on September 27, 2008
https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/russia-ready-for-meaningful-military-reform-again-really/
New appointment to MVD command structure
On 8 September, President Medvedev filled one of two gaps in the Ministry of Internal Affairs command structure, elevating Lt. Gen. Alexander Smirny from command of the MVD Organisation and Inspection Department (OID) to become a deputy interior minister. The current leadership structure (including the main operational departments) as of 14 September 2008 is thus: (more…)
Posted by Mark Galeotti on September 14, 2008
https://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/new-appointment-to-mvd-command-structure/
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Latest Books
Osprey: Essential Histories ‘Russia’s Wars in Chechnya, 1994-2009’ Coming late 2014
