Russia & CIS

The list of participants of the 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue which will be held on May 23 in Baku has been announced Trend reports referring to the Ministry of Culture

Rovnag Abdullayev President of Azerbaijans stateowned SOCAR oil company received a delegation led by Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee bin Wan Ariffin CEO and President of Malaysias Petronas oil and gas company who is in Azerbaijan in connection with Formula 1 SOCAR Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019 the companys source told Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has chaired a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of socioeconomic development of the first quarter of 2019 and future tasks

I have published a review of Dima Adamsky‘s excellent new book on Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy on the Russia Matters site. Here’s a preview.

“Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy: Religion, Politics and Strategy”
By Dmitry Adamsky
Stanford University Press, April 2019

“Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy,” an important new book by the Israeli scholar Dmitry Adamsky, explores the critical but highly understudied juncture between religion and the military. Focusing on the role played by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in the restoration and development of the Russian nuclear weapons complex in the post-Cold War period, Adamsky highlights the organizational and ideological impact of the church on the gradual remilitarization of Russia over the last three decades. Adamsky has written a highly readable and informative book on a woefully understudied topic, though one that at times reads like a continuous success story for the church and raises many questions. Also, the book would have been strengthened by a more comparative focus, vis-à-vis both the role of other religious faiths in Russia and the experience of other countries.

The main argument comes in three parts. First, the church has played and will continue to play a crucial role in promoting the rebuilding of the Russian military in general and the nuclear weapons complex in particular. The book demonstrates that the church was among the earliest advocates for the nuclear weapons complex, at a time when the military and nuclear agencies were generally unpopular among Russians and neglected by a cash-strapped government. Second, the church has influenced the direction of security thinking among both Russian politicians and military leaders. Finally, church advocacy has resulted in a gradual conflation of national defense and rearmament with holiness and spirituality. The protection of the state and nation through armed force has been portrayed as a holy act that is highly compatible with religious belief and spiritual values.

The book is organized chronologically by decade. The first, labeled the Genesis Decade, follows the collapse of the Soviet Union and is the period during which the church-nuclear nexus was first developed, beginning as a grassroots phenomenon within the nuclear complex that combined with outreach efforts by the ROC. The second decade, labeled the Conversion Decade, features the emergence of a top-down trend that supplemented the bottom-up initiatives of the 1990s. During this period, which coincides with Vladimir Putin’s first 10 years in power, the increased role of religion in Russian society and political life merged with a gradual increase in societal respect for the Russian military to result in the formulation of the “nuclear orthodoxy doctrine.” The Operationalization Decade of the last 10 years, Adamsky argues, has resulted in peak clericalization of the Russian military and Russian foreign policy. During this period, “Orthodoxy became the main pillar of Russian nationalism and the basis of state ideology”; in the military sphere, “religious rituals became tightly interwoven with … combat activities” while “priests have penetrated all levels of command.”

Please click here to read the rest

The Chinaproposed Belt and Road Initiative BRI provides immense opportunities for inclusive cooperation Hikmat Hajiyev head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration told Xinhua Trend reports

The 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee which will be held in Baku from June 30 to July 10 will be attended by over 3000 representatives of various countries Azerbaijani Culture Minister Abulfaz Garayev said during a mass rally on tree planting held by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources in Gobustan State HistoricalArtistic Reserve Trend reports

The format of TurkeyAzerbaijanGeorgia TurkeyAzerbaijanIran as well as TurkeyAzerbaijanTurkmenistan cooperation contributes to the strengthening of stability in the region Turkeys Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Trend reports via Turkish media

First VicePresident of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has met with Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko

Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko has visited the Alley of Martyrs to lay flowers at the graves of Azerbaijani heroes who gave their lives for the countrys independence and territorial integrity AZERTAC reported

Two Azerbaijani female wrestlers have qualified for the semifinal of the European Championships in Bucharest Romania

Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko has today visited the Alley of Honors to lay a wreath at the tomb of national leader founder and architect of modern Azerbaijani state Heydar Aliyev

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction denied the appeal by the legal defense team of Armenias former President Robert Kocharyan to terminate criminal proceedings against him on the basis of presidential immunity

Creating an atmosphere of peace which is so often stated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the context of settlement of the ArmeniaAzerbaijan NagornoKarabakh conflict is impossible without withdrawing the occupying Armenian forces from the Azerbaijani territories and the return of the forcibly expelled Azerbaijani IDPs to these lands Trend reports with reference to the press service of Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry

Around 98 percent of pipes of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline TAP are backfilled in Albania Trend reports citing TAP AG consortium

Relations between Azerbaijan and the UK serve as an example for European countries Azerbaijani Presidents Assistant for Public and Political Affairs Ali Hasanov said Trend reports

A working meeting dedicated to Exchange of experience in financial support of the armed forces was held in Baku according to the plan of cooperation for 2019 between the Azerbaijani and Russian Defense Ministries the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on April 12

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko

The Main Department for Logistic Support of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry held a meeting on the results of the work done in the first quarter of 2019

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to award the Dostlug Order Valentina Matviyenko speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia

A bomb hidden among bags of potatoes at a Pakistani market killed at least 16 people half of them ethnic Hazaras officials said in an attack apparently aimed at minority Shiite Muslims Reuters reported