Last month Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering all weapons exports to be handed over to the state arms trader Rosoboroneksport beginning March 1. The MiG corporation, the Tula-based Instrument Manufacturing Design Bureau (KBP), and other independent exporters that together shipped $624 million... MORE

On December 30 the Kyrgyz parliament adopted yet another constitution. The new constitution comes only few weeks after the previous version was endorsed on November 8, 2006. The November 2006 constitution was widely celebrated by the Kyrgyz opposition, as it was achieved after nearly week-long... MORE

Two minutes before midnight on December 31, Russia's Gazprom and the Belarusian government signed a contract to supply Russian gas to Belarus for the next five years. Had the agreement not been signed, Gazprom had threatened to cut off gas supplies to its smaller neighbor,... MORE

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko may opt for an early parliamentary election in order to reverse the 2004-2006 constitutional reforms. Reversing the amendments, which diminished presidential authority and made it possible for Yushchenko's rivals to quickly return to power, is probably impossible without controlling two-thirds of... MORE

On December 26 Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov, Turkmenistan’s acting president, was shown on national television conducting meetings of the State Security Council and Cabinet of Ministers. These images showed Agagelgy Mametgeldiyev, Turkmenistan’s defense minister, seated next to Berdimukhamedov at the meeting. Although there was nothing unusual about... MORE

On December 25, 2006, the last personnel of Russia’s garrison in Tbilisi and the rump Headquarters of the Group of Russian Forces in the Transcaucasus (GRVZ) pulled out of Georgia’s capital and of the country altogether. Their unwilling, though ultimately precipitate, withdrawal crowns 15 years... MORE