By Giorgi KvelashviliIn 2014 the Russian Black Sea coastal city of Sochi, located a few kilometers north of the Russian-Georgian border across the Psou River, will host the Winter Olympic Games. The Russian leadership considers the Sochi Olympics as a manifestation of Russia’s pride and... MORE

by Giorgi KvelashviliGeorgia’s former Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli who currently serves as the leader of the opposition Movement for a Just Georgia and is one of the fiercest critics of President Saakashvili visited Moscow several times in December 2009 to meet with some influential figures... MORE

by Paul RichardsonAn extensive study has revealed how little information Ukraine’s largest banks are willing to share about their finances and their management.Ukrainian banks are “troeshniki” (C students) in information disclosure: They disclose only 48 percent of the information they should be revealing by international... MORE

by Greg Shtraks Last week’s big news in Central Asia was the completion of the natural gas pipeline connecting Turkmenistan and China. The majority of the discussion has, rightfully, focused on the effect that the Samandepe pipeline will have on breaking Russia’s monopsony on Central... MORE

by Paul Goble(The following article appeared on the website Window on Eurasia)The Moscow media on Christmas eve are playing up an interview Ramzan Kadyrov gave to Reuters three days ago in which the Chechen president called for Moscow “to liquidate” the threats to Russia that... MORE

by Tammy LynchFollowing the December 7 failure of Moldova’s ruling parliamentary coalition to elect a president, it now appears the opposition Communist Party (CPRM) may be showing its first public cracks. These cracks have been expected since the CPRM lost power in July’s snap parliamentary... MORE

by Giorgi KvelashviliOn December 12 the Georgian media reported that Russia reinforced its naval presence in the occupied Georgian province of Abkhazia by sending five patrol ships there. The Mangust and Sobol-type Russian ships entered Ochamchire harbor in central Abkhazia, which had been a significant... MORE

Paul Goble, one of the finest analysts of the former former Soviet Union, recently posted this article on his blog Window on Eurasia.It is worth reading if not only for the shock value, but for the consequences which confront Russia After seeing an improvement in... MORE

by Greg ShtraksA week ago the Russian government released a comprehensive energy report entitled “Energy Blueprint for 2030”. The crux of the report lies in the realization that the western Siberian oil fields have peaked and that substantial domestic investment in the East Siberian fields... MORE

by Tammy Lynch European Union, United States and Ukraine leaders did a lot of talking over the last week. The end result …… more talking. And it wasn’t necessarily a series of friendly chats. First, the good news (of a sort). Following a meeting with... MORE