by David Marples Eurasia Daily Monitor recently published an excellent article about changes in the Belarus leadership by David Marples. On December 4, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka made sweeping changes to the higher echelons of the leadership. The changes reflect both adverse news on the... MORE

by Giorgi KvelashviliThe possibility that Russia might purchase one or two French helicopter carriers Mistral from France has long caused anxiety in Tbilisi. Although Georgia’s reaction to initial reports about the purported bid was unusually calm, apprehension became more tangible as Russia and France took... MORE

by Greg ShtraksThe concept of “sister” cities is a well-known one - it has been utilized since Keighley, England and Poix-du-Nord, France became twins as a method of reconciliation after World War I. Thus, the twinning of Vladivostok and Vladikavkaz on November 27th was not... MORE

by Tammy Lynch In advance of Friday’s annual EU-Ukraine summit, the EU Observer carried an interesting quote: A “senior diplomat from one former Communist EU country” suggested that a victory by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the upcoming 17 January presidential election seemed likely. And... MORE

by Giorgi KvelashviliAs the Jamestown Blog reported on November 9, four Georgian schoolboys Giorgi Romelashvili, Aleko Sabadze, Victor Buchukuri and Levan Khmiadashvili had been kidnapped by Russian occupational forces in Georgia’s Tskhinvali region from the neighboring village of Tirdznisi, which is under Georgian control and... MORE

by Roman KupchinskyAt 9:34 P.M. on Friday, November 27, train number 166, the luxurious Nevsky Express, carrying 681 passengers, bound from Moscow to St. Petersburg was blown up by a 15 pound TNT homemade bomb. The attack took place in the vicinity of Alekshinka-Uglovka in... MORE

On 22 November, the presidents of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, met in Munich amidst very harsh statements from both sides. Two days before, President Aliyev said that if the talks failed, Baku might reclaim Nagorno-Karabakh by force, and on the day... MORE

by Jiri KominekMartin Roman, CEO of state-owned utility CEZ announced on November 3 that three companies submitted bids to construct the third and fourth reactor blocs for the Temelin nuclear power station along with options to construct a fifth reactor bloc at the Dukovany nuclear... MORE

by Tammy Lynch In 2004, as Ukrainians celebrated the “success” of their “Orange Revolution,” few would have believed that five years later the country would be depending on the largess of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to help save its economy and maintain its gas... MORE

by Vlad SocorThe following article by Vlad Socor appeared in the Eurasia Daily MonitorRussian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko declared on November 16 that the Nord Stream pipeline on the Baltic seabed would not be used for diverting gas volumes away from Ukraine’s transit pipelines to... MORE