The October 17 referendum in Belarus was followed by several days of public protests by the opposition in central Minsk. Opposition leaders have suggested different strategies to adopt in the wake of the election and the international reaction to it. Most analysts have concluded that... MORE

As President George W. Bush anxiously awaited the outcome of the Ohio vote count, two of his most prominent fans -- Vladimir Putin and Silvio Berlusconi -- were rooting for him in the Kremlin. Bush's victory marked a high point of the Italian Prime Minister's... MORE

The news of George W. Bush's re-election has drawn scant comment from Ukrainian policymakers. This is not surprising, given the fact that the U.S. elections took place just two days after Ukraine's own crucial presidential poll, whose first round ended in a draw between opposition... MORE

The stakes that Russian political elites made in the U.S. and Ukrainian presidential races reveal Russia's growing concern over its leading role in the Commonwealth of Independent States, according to Moscow pundits. While President George W. Bush's reelection is seen by the Kremlin as an... MORE

The Russian government proposes to create a joint entity of the Russian, Georgian, Armenian, and Azerbaijani railways for operating the South Caucasus Railroad, from the Russian-Georgian border via Abkhazia to Tbilisi, Yerevan, and Baku. If created, such a joint company would give Russia a preponderant... MORE

At the core of its national identity, Russia is neither a nuclear super-power nor a spoiled petro-state, but a country of hopeless football fans. The Soviet leadership sought to measure athletic prowess by the total number of Olympic medals and ice hockey in particular, but... MORE

Five days after the election, the final results are still not declared in Ukraine's presidential election. Nevertheless, as opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko declared: "Whatever the authorities might say to us," he won the first round. "And, in the second round we shall finalize this victory,"... MORE

Russia has enlisted its supporters among CIS countries to oppose the OSCE's election-monitoring missions and contradict OSCE election assessments. This Russian policy is not in itself new, but was reactive and mostly pro-forma until now. It turned proactive and brazenly aggressive in the parliamentary elections... MORE

The re-election of President George W. Bush may raise concerns in the Central Asian capitals about the continuation of a unilateralist approach in U.S. foreign policy. Specifically, it will further reveal the nature of U.S. relations with Russia and their potentially significant impact on the... MORE

Turkmenistan's official foreign policy of "positive neutrality" is facing new challenges as Russia continues the drive for greater influence over Central Asian affairs. The Turkmen policy of neutrality, announced by President Saparmurat Niyazov shortly after the country became independent in 1991, has successfully enabled the... MORE