Recently police in the small town of Kentai, Kazakhstan, discovered a cache of books and leaflets propagating the ideas of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an Islamist radical organization. The extremist literature, hidden in the attic of a private house, was printed in Uzbek, Russian, and Kazakh. While police... MORE

As Ukraine's newly formed government prepares to thoroughly revamp the moribund socio-political system it inherited from the corrupt Kuchma administration, Russia is warily pondering its policies toward a new Ukraine. While a group of liberal-minded experts argue that Kyiv's Europe-oriented political course is not inimical... MORE

Since the December election of President Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's Prosecutor-General's Office has launched a variety of new investigations, some already leading to criminal charges. One of Yushchenko's fundamental reforms will be institutionalizing the rule of law in a country that had continued the Soviet tradition... MORE

With almost no public notice, Turkmenistan has virtually ceased deliveries of gas to Russia since January 1 due to disagreement over the price (Vremya novosti, February 9). Gazprom did not acknowledge the problem publicly until yesterday (February 10). The company's chairman, Alexei Miller, held talks... MORE

The chairmen of the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian parliamentary foreign relations committees, along with prominent historians and political scientists from the three Baltic states, have decided to convene an urgent videoconference to restore the sense of common purpose in handling the challenge of the May... MORE

Kyrgyz authorities are tightening security ahead of their February 27 parliamentary elections. Their concerns primarily focus around security fears on the Kyrgyz border and domestic fears about the unknown strength of the opposition. Generic political fears, triggered by the recent wave of peaceful revolutions in... MORE

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) presented its first report to President Hamid Karzai in a ceremony in Kabul on Saturday, January 29. The report, entitled "A Call for Justice," is a grim reminder of the abuses once committed by the country's so-called warlords... MORE