Chechnya’s notorious “Black Widows” have been active since June 7, 2000 when the first Chechen female suicide bombers, Khava Barayeva, cousin of well-known Chechen field commander Arbi Barayev, and Luisa Magomadova drove a truck filled with explosives into the temporary headquarters of an elite OMON (Russian Special Forces) detachment in the village of Alkhan Yurt in Chechnya. The attack resulted in two dead and five wounded. Since then Chechen female terrorists have been involved in twenty-two of the twenty-seven suicide attacks (81...
Russia is one of the largest exporters of arms in the world. Its sales of arms and nuclear material in the Middle East are controversial and threaten its links with the US and Israel. Nonetheless, as long as the political price is not prohibitive, Russia will likely pursue lucrative arms, nuclear, and energy sales, even to the displeasure of the West. The Russian Economy and Arms Exports to the Middle East explores the delicate interplay between Russian economics and foreign policy, particularly regarding arms and energy markets.
