The World Factbook ShowIntroduction :: RUSSIA Panel - Collapsed Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new ROMANOV Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms.
News.com.au | News Online from Australia and the World | NewsComAu The XX Committee | intelligence, strategy, and security in a dangerous world The One Article to Read on Chinese Naval Strategy in 2015 A fascinating new paper by two academics asks us to question a fundamental assumption about China’s naval buildup. The last two lines of Thomas Hardy’s poem “And There Was a Great Calm,” written on the occasion of the signing of the armistice in November 1918, contains the following exchange, laconically summarizing what I believe is the eternal tension that permeates foreign policy decision-making: “The Sinister Spirit sneered: ‘It had to be!’ / And again the Spirit of Pity whispered, ‘Why?’” (Side note: the writer Graham Greene prefaced his autobiography Ways of Escape with these lines and retrospectively elevating it to a guiding principle of his life.) In short, those lines speak to the tension between those who have a natural disposition toward seeing the U.S. national interests at stake everywhere in the world (especially in crisis zones), and those who cautiously question some of the basic premises of this assumption.
The Kazan Herald Africa Review: - Reporting Africas future and the big political, economic, cultural and technology stories shaping it Matthew Aid India: The Austria-Hungary of the 21st Century? If it heeds the lessons of history, the US would do well not to foster close ties with India in the next few years. During this week’s podcast I briefly mentioned an idea that I would like to explore a bit further: The striking similarities between the strategic position of India in the 21st century with that of the now vanished empire of Austria-Hungary in the 19th and early 20th century. I’ve published similar pieces looking at this analogy previously at The Huffington Post and China-US Focus, but I thought I would repost some of my observations here as well. To this day, India’s foreign policy, much like Austria-Hungary’s is – more than most other emerging titans – constrained by a quest for internal security and a deep introspection – making it a reluctant power and conducting a more or less ‘introverted foreign policy’. The Austrian Empire, like India, was considered to be a bridging power between East and West for much of its existence.
russia-media.RU - Murmansk Think-Tank-EN | Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik e.V. Chinese Defense Innovation Industrial espionage may help China’s military-industrial complex, but it will still need to harness its private sector. For the first time in its history, the People’s Liberation Army can boast a homegrown arsenal of sophisticated, modern weaponry. The military-industrial complex of the People’s Republic of China has two fifth generation fighters in development, has demonstrated the capacity to build some of the most sophisticated ballistic missiles in the world, and has among the world’s healthiest military shipbuilding sector. Yet for all of this success, serious questions persist. Postwar Emergence In 1949, the Chinese defense industry produced little in the way of sophisticated military technology. As initially established, the Chinese MIC distinguished between the strategic weapons complex (nuclear weapons and their delivery systems) and the conventional weapons complex.
Agentura.ru A near doubling in Russian wiretaps over five years In a previous article, we asked who was bugging the Russian opposition. Here we develop this theme, looking at how a combination of recent legislation and new technology has allowed Russia’s many security agencies to expand their activities still further. / June 4 2012 / The Kremlin and the hackers: partners in crime? The Russian state and surveillance technology The Russian blogosphere has burgeoned into a open-door sanctuary for all strands of political opinion. The New Nobility In April 2015 a new updated online SORM system was introduced in Russia, whereby SORM functions are combined with DPI technology (Deep Packet Inspection). Read more --> The statements that President Vladimir Putin made at a recent meeting with leaders of the Russian Internet are hardly worth discussing. Read more --> Read more --> Read more --> The intrigue is growing over the Federal Security Service's involvement in Ukraine. Read more --> Read more -->