Armed clashes between Georgian and South Ossetian forces have resumed after a 14-year lull. On August 13, overnight gunfire began around 3:00 a.m. and left three Georgian civilians wounded. Three Georgian soldiers were killed and several others injured as a result of shelling in South... MORE

A new scandal is unfolding in Ukraine that is likely to add to the growing realization that this year's Ukrainian presidential elections cannot be described as free and fair. On August 3 the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (www.ihf-hr.org) appealed to Ukrainian authorities "to... MORE

The U.S. government on August 12 weighed in on the situation surrounding the beleaguered Russian oil giant Yukos. State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli reiterated the position that Washington has stated in the past--that, as he put it on this occasion, "All parties need to... MORE

The Azerbaijani leadership is showing its impatience at the continuing diplomatic deadlock over the disputed province of Karabakh. The signals coming out of Baku indicate that the Aliev administration is prepared -- at least in words -- to try to resolve the long-running conflict with... MORE

With its vast arable land, Kazakhstan sees grain production as more than a matter of food security. It is also increasingly becoming an effective tool in shaping its economic and political relations with the outside world. Over the last three years Kazakhstan has taken steps... MORE

The hostilities continue in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia. This week the Georgian and Ossetian sides are accusing each other of firing at villages in the conflict zone. On August 12, beginning 5:30 a.m., Ossetian separatists were shelling ethnic-Georgian-populated villages and moving their heavy... MORE

Dagestan is threatening to spin out of control. That, at least, is the claim of a pair of reports -- one in a Russian newspaper and the other on a Chechen separatist website. Nezavisimaya gazeta reported on August 10 that the mayor of the city... MORE

Senior U.S. State Department officials have reiterated their threat that if Ukraine's elections in October are not free and fair, then Ukraine has no chance of being invited to join NATO (Ukrayinska pravda, August 9). Media freedom during the elections, the officials emphasized, is an... MORE

On August 11, a Russian RS-18 (Stiletto) inter-continental ballistic missile was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kyzylorda region, symbolizing the expanding Russian-Kazakh cooperation in space exploration. In recent years Kazakhstan's government has been repeatedly criticized for failing to make good use of the Baikonur... MORE

The Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed on August 10 that unnamed "foreign sponsors" have supplied Chechen separatists with funds to disrupt Chechnya's presidential election, scheduled for August 29. Sergei Ignatchenko, head of the FSB's public relations center, said the funds were specifically earmarked for increased... MORE