It abuts Iraq, Syria, Iran and the Caucasus; it has a big army (the second-biggest in NATO); in an era of energy insecurity its network of oil and gas pipelines is increasingly important.

它同伊拉克、叙利亚、伊朗以及高加索地区相毗邻；并拥有较大规模的武装力量(在北约中位列第二)；在一个缺乏能源安全感的时代，该国的油气管道网络也就日益重要。

youdao

Russian prosecutors are reluctant to investigate ethnic attacks on Muslims from the Caucasus, which happen a lot in big Russian cities.

ECONOMIST: Suicide bombs in Moscow

Big-power interests seem certain to ensure that regional rivalries will continue to fester in the combustible Caucasus.

ECONOMIST: The Caucasus