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In late December, Alexey Tsydenov, the governor of Russia’s Republic of Buryatia, created a brand-new agency aimed at preventing “separatism and nationalism” in the region. While the office is the first of its kind in Buryatia’s modern history, it’s not unprecedented: the Soviet authorities took measures to combat potential Buryat separatist movements in the 1930s, referring to these efforts as the “fight against pan-Mongolism.” In reality, there was no “pan-Mongol conspiracy” during the Stalin era, and the regime’s search for one led to mass repressions. Less than a genera...

Autocracies in the former Soviet space have long been adopting each other’s strategies for staying in power. But in the wake of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, Moscow has employed a new disinformation tactic previously used by one of Central Asia’s most brutal and least transparent governments: Emomali Rahmon’s regime in Tajikistan. Journalist Roman Chernikov, who focuses on Russia’s relations with countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus, explains why this should be just as alarming as the Kremlin’s emulation of Alexander Lukashenko’s repressive practices in Belarus.