The subject of this article is the analysis of the conflict between the Russian Federation and Georgia in 2008. The conflict has opened a new stage in Russia’s strategic drive to make decisions and implement them in areas recognized as important for the security of the country, even if they are outside its borders. The Georgian case clearly indicated that Russia wants to maintain its dominant position in the entire post-Soviet area. The region of the Caucasus remains an extremely important area for Russia, where it wants to maintain strategic control. The author proves in his article that the main determinants influencing the policy of the Russian Federation in the Caucasus region are: maintaining the greatest possible impact on the internal situation of the countries of the region, the maximum hindering possible integration with the Euro-Atlantic structures, the largest economic dependence on Russia, taking control over key sectors of the economy, maintaining military presence, isolation of the North Caucasus from Georgia, maintaining a monopoly on energy supplies, interest in Azeri mineral resources, striving to take over control of natural gas transport.
The Russian-Georgian conflict of 2008 was one of the elements of Russia’s demonstration of the consequences of maintaining its dominant position in the post-Soviet area. The sphere of influence extends not only to Eastern Europe but also to the socalled Putin’s doctrine extends, in fact, to the entire area of the former USSR.

Relations Chechen-Saudi (august 1997–february 2007)

In the article, the author presented the most important events relations of Chechen-Saudian from the middle of 1999 to February 2007. The author showed how politics looked like for example during presidency of Aslan Maskhadov’s, Ahmat Kadyrov’s.

Terrorist attacks in the Russian Federation

The high level of terrorist threat to the security of the Russian Federation, which has been persisting for decades, is a process of many aspects. The conducted internal policy, involvement in armed conflicts in Ukraine and in Syria, the unstable situation in the Caucasus and the undertaken international co-operation have a significant impact on the activation of terrorist groups in Russia. Already in 2012, before the series of attacks in the French Republic, the on-going conflict in the North Caucasus was described as the most brutal in Europe. Since 2007, Russia has started to cope with international terrorism. What is even worse, it has undergone evolution, permanently destabilizing the internal security of the state. The recent attacks have been associated with the emergence of extremist groups from the Middle East, such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and their cooperation with rebels from the South and North Caucasus. International terrorist groups began their expansion into the whole territory of the Russian Federation, mobilizing the local government to undertake activities counteracting terrorism. Nowadays, the situation is slowly returning to normal, but new threats are still worth noting. The past experience and new threats of attacks urge us to re-analyse the current situation and define the goals of the anti-terrorist actions of the Russian Federation. This is also important in view of the consequences for other countries which are immediate neighbours of Russia, including possible terrorist consequences for Poland.

Azerbaijani Support for the Chechen People on the Example of the First and Second Chechen War

In this article, the autor shows the level of Azerbaijan’s support for Chechnya and Chechens during the first and second Chechen wars. The author analyzed the body of literature and the body of literature sources, which provided the answer that Azerbaijan’s support for Chechnya and Chechens in the 1990’s was very varied and did not last for long.

Islam in the Post-Soviet area – Caucasus

Islam is seen as a homogeneous religion. It is a common belief that the synonymous of Muslim is Arab. Meanwhile, according to statistics of 2013, Muslims constitute over a 28% of the world population. The followers are spread all over the globe and can be found in every country. Thus, speaking about homogeneity and identification of all believers with the Arab world is a serious mistake. Islam in the post-Soviet area, has a characteristic dimension. Caucasian republics, initially conquered by Muslim Empires in the majority submitted to Islamisation. The Soviet reign and atheistic propaganda weakened religion, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Caucasus and Central Asia experienced the revival of Islam. Today Georgia is a Christian country with a Muslim minority, Dagestan is the most Islamized Caucasian republic with Sunni majority while in Azerbaijan Sunnis are a minority compared with Shiites. Therefore, how much similar and how much different is Islam in Azerbaijan, Dagestan and Georgia?

German contacts with the Caucasus in the 18th and 19th centuries

The paper presents the initial period of German-Caucasian contacts, which includes the activity of German travelers, scientists and settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries. These activities were carried out during the period of Russian rule over Caucasus. The influence of the unification of Germany in 1871 on the intensification of German-Caucasian relations and a change in their character was noted. From then on, they were an element of the foreign policy of the Second Reich, which increased German-Caucasian economic exchange and led to political cooperation in the 20th century.