On December 1 a spontaneous riot erupted in Markhamat, a district center located 30 km south of the city of Andizhan in Uzbekistan's Fergana Valley. The riot involved approximately 300-350 people and was precipitated by electricity shortages in the district. The rioters demanded that the... MORE

On November 29, the Dalai Lama, the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, visited Kalmykia, a region in southern Russia, that is mainly inhabited by ethnic Kalmyks practicing Buddhism. This visit was difficult to organize, since the Chinese government regards the Dalai Lama as a separatist.... MORE

On December 7, Izvestiya published a second article by its special correspondent in Chechnya, Vadim Rechkalov, addressing the issue of why Russia's special services have been unable to catch rebel warlord Shamil Basaev during the ten years since the start of the first Chechen war.... MORE

In the first days of December, the Russian government planned to review Gazprom's performance and approve its investment program for 2005. The agenda for the meeting, however, was changed at the last moment when Gazprom announced a drastic revision of its plans in connection with... MORE

In the aftermath of the scandalous second round of the Ukrainian presidential election on November 21, the pro-Kuchma parliamentary majority, established originally to back up Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's "coalition government," is continuing to unravel. The disintegration is part and parcel of the gradual defection... MORE

With the resignation of his chief of staff, Ural Latypau (Latypov), and his subsequent appointment of Viktar Sheiman, President Alexander Lukashenka brought back to high office a trusted lieutenant who is also thoroughly discredited outside the country. The motives behind the new appointment have been... MORE

Having all but lost his Ukraine gambit, Russian President Vladimir Putin headed to India and Turkey on state visits in early December. The Kremlin leader's talks with Indian and Turkish rulers appear to be an attempt to give an "asymmetrical answer" to the global hegemony... MORE

Russia and India have reached a tentative agreement on military cooperation in Central Asia, aimed at resolving any potential conflict of interests between the two powers in the strategically important region. Russian President Vladimir Putin reached no definitive accord during his December 3-4 visit to... MORE

During the first days of December, Kazakhstan was hit with several crises that deeply shook the state's belief in smooth, trouble-free development. Just as the investigations began into the causes of the explosions outside the agricultural library in Almaty (see EDM, November 30), reports emerged... MORE

Having all but lost his Ukraine gambit, Russian President Vladimir Putin headed to India and Turkey on state visits in early December. The Kremlin leader's talks with Indian and Turkish rulers appear to be an attempt to give an "asymmetrical answer" to the global hegemony... MORE