Less than two months before Kazakhstan takes over the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Kazakh NGO’s are warning the international community about the rapidly worsening human rights situation in the country. Kazakhstan’s ambition to become OSCE chairman was a... MORE

The Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria this week has been the target of a series of attacks apparently carried out by insurgents. On the evening of November 17, an electric power substation in the Adyl-Su Gorge in Kabardino-Balkaria’s Elbrusk district was blown up. Later that same evening,... MORE

The Barack Obama administration began nuclear arms control negotiations with Moscow this year, eager for swift progress to help “reset” bilateral relations and achieve progress on more sensitive issues such as Iran and Afghanistan. The expiry date of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty or... MORE

Ukraine finds it increasingly difficult to survive without money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country paid Russia for October’s gas deliveries with IMF funds and the same means will be used for November’s gas deliveries. However, the IMF did not disburse the fourth... MORE

The parliament of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria has ratified changes in the republican constitution at the request of the Russian Prosecutor-General. Final agreement was reached on November 10 after prolonged debates followed by two unsuccessful attempts to vote on the issue (Gazeta Yuga, November 12).The... MORE

Before departing for the APEC Summit in Singapore President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law new legislation concerning the use of Russia’s armed forces abroad. While retaining the stipulation that the armed forces would only be used under extreme circumstances, the new law stated that force... MORE

Gas production in Azerbaijan is set to reach 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually by 2013 from currently operating fields (Trend Capital, November 13). Over and above that level, the second phase of production at the Shah Deniz field is projected to add another 16... MORE

“We are interested in exporting our resources through different routes,” Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev stated during his visit to Bulgaria on November 13 (AZTV). On the same day, he paid a short working visit to Sofia to meet his counterpart Georgi Parvanov and to sign... MORE

On November 13, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili convened yet another session of his country’s National Security Council (NSC) with the participation of major parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition parties. Boycotted by radical politicians, but highly appreciated by moderates, as a mechanism to conduct dialogue with the... MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, during his address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow on November 12, again highlighted the need to equip the armed forces with modern weapons and equipment. In the context of a lengthy, wide ranging speech which developed the theme of modernizing... MORE