Visiting Astana on November 16, World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn praised Kazakhstan for its recent economic performance and stressed that the poverty rate in the country has decreased from 18% to 12%. Most importantly, he said, Kazakhstan has made remarkable success in developing its... MORE

The President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, and the President of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, met in Bukhara on November 19. The leaders of the two countries signed a treaty "On Friendship, Confidence-building, and Developing Cooperation." In addition, the presidents signed a bilateral agreement on mutual visits... MORE

Polls closed in the decisive presidential election runoff yesterday (November 21) between Viktor Yushchenko, the candidate of the center-right coalition of market liberals and nationalists, and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who was backed by outgoing president Leonid Kuchma and the "oligarchs." The Central Electoral Commission... MORE

While Russian President Vladimir Putin made public appearances throughout the third week of November, he has little to show for his efforts. He addressed the annual congress of Russian businessmen, but rather than telling them anything new, he simply gauged the business community's readiness to... MORE

As President George W. Bush reshuffles his cabinet, Moscow political elites are discussing what kind of changes in policy, personnel, and cooperation can be expected during his second term. The nomination of Condoleezza Rice as U.S. Secretary of State has been interpreted by the bulk... MORE

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenka has ordered drastic measures in support of the "Belarusian path" of development. These, in turn, are accompanied by official depictions of remarkable economic growth and demands for an end to "foreign" intrusion in domestic life, including hostile actions against Belarus, adoption... MORE

Yukos was hit by a series of new blows on November 18. The embattled oil company's chief lawyer, Dmitry Gololobov, told reporters in London, where he was on a business trip, that he had been placed on Russian and international wanted lists at the request... MORE

On October 29, the Russian State Duma voted to adopt in its first reading President Vladimir Putin's proposal to eliminate the direct election of regional executive-branch leaders. Despite the fact that officials have received 70 positive comments on the proposal from local legislatures and 58... MORE

With the second round of Ukraine's election set for November 21, President Leonid Kuchma will soon become an ex-president. The final vote tally is due no later than 15 days after election day; therefore, the new president should be inaugurated in early December. After a... MORE

On November 15-18, Ashgabat hosted concurrently two international oil and gas exhibitions and conferences: a bilateral event on "Turkmenistan-Russia Oil and Gas Partnership Prospects," and an international one on "Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan 2004." The two events illustrated Russia's head start over Western consumer... MORE