As Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov was formally inaugurated for another term as the country’s leader on January 16, his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, lost little time extending his congratulations. "Your authority, energy, and determination will guarantee the further social and economic development of Uzbekistan," Putin... MORE

The relentless race to develop Central Asia’s energy reserves has now reached mountainous Kyrgyzstan. But as in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, it seems that Russia has largely beat out its foreign competition, concentrating on natural gas while allowing Western companies to scramble for the country’s... MORE

For long-term observers of Turkey, one of the country’s enduring fascinations is its turbulent mix of contrasts, paradoxes, and contradictions, Nowhere is this more true than in its attitudes toward the Christian West in general and Europe in particular. Europe is frequently regarded as being... MORE

The agreements signed on January 18 in Sofia in President Vladimir Putin’s presence pave the way for Bulgaria’s inclusion in Russia’s expanding energy networks. From President Giorgi Parvanov and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev on down, Bulgarian officials are hailing this set of agreements as the... MORE

It has been an unusually cold winter in Central Asia, with temperatures hovering between –15C and –25C since late December. As a result of the protracted freezing temperatures, Central Asian states have been experiencing severe energy shortages. Among them, Tajikistan was perhaps the most vulnerable... MORE

On the evening of January 23, a court in Ankara decided to reverse a previous ruling and allow the population of Turkey to visit YouTube. For the previous four days all access to the popular video-sharing site had been blocked by a previous court ruling... MORE

On January 21 the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) protected its reputation by eschewing the election of Mikhail Margelov as PACE president. Apparently, many members realized that PACE could have discredited itself irreparably by electing a Kremlin-affiliated figure as president of Europe’s leading democracy-promoting... MORE

On the first week of the new year, residents of Azerbaijan were shocked to discover that the popular weekly TV program “Chto? Gde? Kogda?” (What? Where? When?) was missing from TV schedules. The National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting had finally realized its long-planned... MORE