4th annual conference of the Middle East Dialogue of the Valdai International Discussion Club, titled “Islam in Politics: Ideology or Pragmatism?”, will take place in Marrakesh, Morocco, on May 14-15.
Issues of commonalities and differences in the Muslim communities of Russia and Canada, as well as problems of their integration into the legal frameworks of their respective countries, were the main topics of discussion at the conference Muslims in Russia, the CIS, and Canada: Cohabitation and Cooperation
The conference Muslims in Russia, the CIS, and Canada: Cohabitation and Cooperation presented by Carleton’ Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Department of Political Science, the Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam, and the Valdai Discussion Club is to be held on March 8, 2013 at the Carleton University, Ottawa.
The analytical report “Russia’s Economy: after Transformation, before Modernization” was prepared after discussions at the Valdai Discussion Club Summit held on October 21–22, 2012. The report incorporates many of the conclusions on Russia’s political development contained in the 2011 Valdai report “Russia Should Not Miss Its Chance: Development Scenarios”.
The Russia Development Index (Valdai Index) reflects the combined opinion of the world's leading experts on Russia as regards Russia’s political, economic, social, cultural and international performance. The annual poll aims to study changes in Russia’s development trends over a year. It is important that respondents assess not the current situation, but changes.
The analytical report “Military Reform: Toward the New Look of the Russian Army” summarizes the results of the conference of the Valdai Discussion Club Defense and Security section titled “Modernization of Russia’s Armed Forces and Cooperation in International Security” which was held on May 25-27, 2011 in Moscow.
12/25/201212:26 By assisting with the establishment of the National Coalition, the United States and their allies have not united the opposition, but instead created the semblance of an association that will act as a breeding ground for the further escalation of the Syrian conflict. Washington is not keen to be fully committed to the Middle East, since the situation is too complicated and unpredictable.
08/01/201210:41 Dropping Assad or not is not the point. Russia is upholding its role in the world and some principles of mutual relations. The biggest risk for Russia is that the growing influence of all kinds of Islamic forces in the Middle East may whip up enthusiasm for Islamic extremists in Russia’s North Caucasus. Hostile relations with Riyadh and Doha are exacerbating this risk.
07/27/201212:28 Support for the opposition may do a lot of damage to the West, and this is why it is necessary to take every opportunity to encourage the sides to sit down at the negotiating table. If the conflict is not settled during Ramadan, events will spiral out of control and we will see the start of a full-scale civil war.
07/26/201209:56 The Russian naval task force consists of different ships: a large anti-submarine warfare ship, two escort ships and five amphibious landing ships. The biggest intrigue is the reason for dispatching the landing ships to Syria. One possible explanation is that they are carrying military equipment for the Syrian army.
06/25/201211:09 Vladimir Putin is heading to the Middle East. The trip promises no sensations, but draws a lot of attention due to the radically changed situation in the region. This shift had made an enormous impact on Russian positioning in the Middle East game.
06/20/201212:10 The Syrian problem cannot be confined to regional boundaries, because it has highlighted a number of global issues, above all the question that should be raised at multilateral meetings: “Is it legitimate to declare governments illegitimate?” It looks as though no one respects international law any longer.
04/06/201213:31 The events in Syria have long become unpredictable, and there are serious apprehensions about the outbreak of civil war. It is probably too late to speak about prospects – the human losses and the scale of bloodshed have already been enormous. The opposition may not be able to achieve national reconciliation and to run a country weakened by fighting.
03/20/201210:22 Despite the difficulties and criticisms this policy has given rise to, Russia’s active policy in the region proves that without its involvement, it is virtually impossible to settle a major regional crisis like the one in Syria.
