Representatives of Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Karabakh held a conference on "A Parallel CIS" on September 15-16 in Moscow. The gathering differed from previous ones in that it was overtly sponsored by officials of Russia's executive branch of power. Modest Kolerov, head of the... MORE

On September 10-13, Russia and Armenia conducted a tactical military exercise at the Marshal Bagramian training grounds, close to the Armenian-Turkish border. President Robert Kocharian and other Armenian officials attended the final, live-fire stage of the joint exercise. Each side committed a motor-rifle regiment, artillery,... MORE

The Kremlin sees the ongoing political crisis in Kyiv that culminated in last week's dismissal of the Yulia Tymoshenko government by President Viktor Yushchenko as an opportune moment to restart the geopolitical "battle for Ukraine." Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration, although bitterly stung by the... MORE

The Orange Revolution and subsequent election of President Viktor Yushchenko showed that Ukrainian society wanted "change." But as the Economist (September 8) pointed out, the "Orange Revolution promised much but has so far delivered little." Indeed, Ukrainians believe that, eight months into Yushchenko's presidency, there... MORE

Afghanistan is set to hold parliamentary elections on Sunday, September 18. In the final days of the campaign, hopes and difficulties abound. The hopes stem from the fact that people see the elections as a positive step towards democracy. The difficulties arise from the lack... MORE

Kazakhstan has taken a small, but significant step towards preparing more of its military personnel to receive education and training in Western countries by opening a new military language institute in Almaty. In many ways this development serves to highlight the extent of the uphill... MORE

Russia and the OSCE have worked out a package of military measures and agreements that could, if implemented, turn Moldova into a Russian military foothold on NATO's flank. The package has recently been submitted to the OSCE in Vienna, as "restricted" documents, both in the... MORE

While the OSCE's new framework for the demilitarization of Transnistria is flawed in principle, the proposed verification and inspection system opens more loopholes, and again in Transnistria only, where much is hidden from view. By contrast, right-bank Moldova hardly has combat forces or arms factories,... MORE

As Azerbaijan's November 6 parliamentary elections draw closer, opposition parties are becoming more active. On Saturday September 10 the opposition bloc Azadliq (Freedom), a coalition of three major parties in Azerbaijan -- Musavat, Popular Front, and Democratic Party – held yet another rally in Baku... MORE