Russia Reform Monitor: No. 1896

May 11:

In a further sign of warming bilateral ties, Russia is planning to stage joint military maneuvers with the Egyptian government. According to the Jerusalem Post, the prospective drills were agreed to during a visit of Russian officials to Cairo in recent days. The move is part of what one Israeli think tank has termed "Russia's overall effort to rehabilitate its status in the Middle East, which was greatly undermined during the Arab Spring."

May 12:

The Wall Street Journal reports that pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions have formally requested to be incorporated into Russia through a formal referendum. The polls, similar to the referendum that set the stage for Crimea's annexation earlier this year, have seen the regions declare independence from Ukraine and sought membership in the Russian Federation. "Given the stated wishes of the population of the Donetsk People's Republic and the need for the restoration of historical justice, we ask the Russian Federation to consider including the Donetsk People's Republic as part of the Russian Federation," Denis Pushilin, a top separatist leader in Donetsk, has said.

Moscow is further centralizing its control of the North Caucasus. Writing in his "Window on Eurasia" blog, analyst Paul Goble notes that Aleksandr Khloponin, the Kremlin's special envoy for the region, has been replaced with Sergei Melikov, the commander of internal forces in the troubled region. The move represents a "reformation of administrative arrangements in the North Caucasus," the office of the president has said in a formal statement. Those changes include the formation of a new ministry - a move that "suggests Moscow intends to play an even more direct role in running the North Caucasus," Goble outlines.

In the latest internal reshuffle, Russian president Vladimir Putin has fired his chief of staff. The Moscow Timesreports that Vladimir Kozhin, the long-serving chief of the Office of Presidential Affairs, has been let go. Kozhin's replacement is Alexander Kolpakov, who previously headed up the Presidential Security Service. Kozhin is not completely on the outs, however; according to the paper, he "will become a presidential aide overseeing military-industrial cooperation."

Russia is using a shadowy paramilitary force with a checkered past as a proxy to spread instability in Eastern Ukraine. Time reports that the "Wolves' Hundred," a group drawn from Cossack militias and comprised of Russian citizens, is the vanguard of a new kind of warfare being waged by the Russian state - one that involves "the use of militant nationalist groups acting as proxies." In the past two months, the group has been involved in the takeover of several Ukrainian towns, using brutal tactics in its covert campaign.

U.S.-Russian cooperation on civilian space issues appears to be the latest casualty of the Ukraine crisis. Reuters reports that the Russian government is planning to deny the U.S. use of the International Space Station after 2020, and will also prohibit Russian rockets from launching American satellites into space. The decision, unveiled by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, is a significant blow to the United States, which currently relies heavily on Russian assistance and technology to assure access to space.