Carnegie Moscow Center
In the past 20 years, there has been a major, and positive, turnaround in the Russo-Turkish bilateral relationship.
Putin’s Russia—which raised living standards, increased political apathy, and led to sovereign democracy—is over. As parliamentary and presidential elections approach, long-simmering social, economic, and political disputes are spilling into the open, and public politics are returning to the fore.
The choice of Sochi as the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympics has prompted debate over the “Cherkessian issue,” sparking an upsurge in activity and division among Cherkessian public organizations.
The consequences of the Georgia-Abkhazia, Georgia-South Ossetia, and Georgia-Russia conflicts pose problems for each of the parties involved. There is an obvious need to adopt a plan to strengthen mutual trust and prevent further bloodshed in the region.
The Kremlin’s reliance on ethnic clan structures to govern the North Caucasus has only maintained and intensified the deep inequalities plaguing the society in the region.
Mikhail Gorbachev presided over the biggest upheaval in Russia’s history—the fall of the Soviet Union—with surprisingly little bloodshed.
As ethnic tensions over immigration increase worldwide and the European models of multiculturalism and assimilation prove problematic, countries must find a comprehensive approach to coexistence that is acceptable both to immigrants and their new host countries.
To effectively counter terrorism, civil societies and NGOs in both Russia and India must work alongside their governments while working to avoid alienating the significant Muslim minorities in each country.
The efforts of Russian authorities to improve the state of interethnic relations and security in the country have not succeeded in defining the issues or analyzing the reasons behind the worsening situation.
If Armenians and Azerbaijanis want to resolve their conflict peacefully, they need to start facing up to the acts of violence committed by both sides.