The ruling centrist and oligarchic elites that supported President Leonid Kuchma over the last decade are now rushing to adapt to the reality that Viktor Yushchenko is Ukraine's new president. The Supreme Court and Central Election Commission threw out complaints by his opponent, former prime... MORE

Already the opposition victory in the presidential election in Ukraine has had repercussions in neighboring Belarus. In turn, the Lukashenka regime has taken several repressive measures against real and perceived opponents in Belarus. Several observers have made the link between the events in Kyiv and... MORE

Some Western commentators have already called 2004 Russian President Vladimir Putin's annus horribilis. This year has seen the Kremlin's political failures in the Caucasus and Ukraine as well as Putin's recent loss of credibility throughout the world. While some Kremlin-connected foreign policy experts appear ready... MORE

Authorities are investigating whether the December 14 attack on a regional branch of the Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN) in Nalchik, the capital of the North Caucasian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, was the work of a Jamaat, or underground Islamic paramilitary group. They are also trying... MORE

A left-of-center coalition government took office in Lithuania on December 15, capping complex power-sharing negotiations in the wake of the October parliamentary elections. The coalition includes two mainstream, "establishment" parties, the Social-Democrats and New Union/Social Liberals, governing jointly since 2001; and two populist parties, Labor... MORE

Ukraine is undergoing radical change in anticipation of a Yushchenko victory in the repeat presidential runoff on December 26. Challenger Viktor Yushchenko will have eight months to undertake sweeping and radical reforms before his powers are reduced when constitutional reforms go into effect in September... MORE

Responding to Moldova's calls for Russian troop withdrawal and an international solution to the Transnistria conflict, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released a torrent of verbal abuse and warnings against Moldova. On December 15, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement terming Moldova's... MORE

Ahead of the December 26 repeat presidential runoff, which will again pit opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko against Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, debate has resumed over Yushchenko's mysterious illness. On December 11, the Vienna-based Rudolfinerhaus clinic announced that Yushchenko had definitely been poisoned by dioxin, a... MORE

The Russian government is expected to make the final decision on the destination of the Siberian oil pipeline as early as the next few days. The pipeline would link the Russian oil fields near Taishet, northwest of Lake Baikal, to either the Chinese city of... MORE