Aides and speechwriters for Russian President Vladimir Putin are now putting the final touches on his annual address to the Federal Assembly due to be delivered by the end of this month. In the leak-proof Kremlin, the speech's content is guarded more vigilantly than were... MORE

While expecting Russia to come to terms with its recent history and their irreversible independence, the three Baltic states are initiating efforts to improve relations with Russia on the practical level. Moscow seems to grasp this opportunity for improving the atmosphere in the run-up to... MORE

On April 6 the Ukrainian police, for the first time since the Orange Revolution, detained a top representative of the old Kuchma regime. Donetsk Region Council Chairman Borys Kolesnykov, suspected of extortion, will spend at least two months behind bars, according to a court verdict.... MORE

For the second time in the space of one week, the Kremlin has embarrassed an unsuspecting European Union by holding parallel meetings on the settlement of frozen conflicts. While EU leaders came through the front door, Russian-installed secessionist leaders entered through the back door. The... MORE

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's recent visit to the United States and his declaration that these two countries would work together to bring about regime change in Belarus caused shock waves in Minsk and brought about an immediate official protest (Belarusian Television, Vokrug Planety, April 9).... MORE

Moldovan Communist President Vladimir Voronin's reelection with right-wing democratic support (see EDM, April 5) reflects a thoroughgoing transformation of Moldova's politics on three levels: that of the presidential team, of the pro-Western opposition leaders, and of the immediate external environment. These changes resulted in a... MORE

It would probably be an understatement to say that the Kremlin was likely not pleased with the unprecedented number of standing ovations with which American lawmakers welcomed Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko to Capitol Hill. For the Russian politicians and strategists who still see the world... MORE

From April 4 to 6 Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov visited New Delhi to conduct negotiations with the Indian government and to sign 12 agreements with India. These accords ranged over such diverse fields as defense, education, trade, industry, tourism, and the struggle against terrorism. But... MORE

Armenia appears to have given Georgia fresh assurances that it will use its influence to prevent a major destabilization of the situation in the southern Georgian region of Javakheti, which is predominantly populated by ethnic Armenians. Tension in the impoverished area bordering Armenia and Turkey... MORE