Yesterday, the Ukrainian parliament (Rada) debated the issue of a continued Ukrainian military contingent in Iraq, the fourth largest in the 33-member U.S.-led Coalition. Reports were heard by Minister of Defense Yevhen Marchuk, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Volodymyr Yelchenko, First Deputy Chairman of... MORE

Most observers look at the strong economy and President Putin's high popularity rating, and assume that Russia has become a "normal" society, in the words of a recent Foreign Affairs article. But a nationwide survey on "Rich and poor in Russia" by the Institute for... MORE

BelTransGaz, the Belarusan state gas company whose pipelines carry Russian gas to Europe, is being targeted by Russia's state-controlled Gazprom monopoly for cheap takeover. Turning up the political pressure, the Russian side released on May 19 the transcript of a meeting held two days earlier... MORE

In an effort to reassure Moscow about its relations with Tajikistan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Talbak Nazarov recently gave an interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta where he stated that Dushanbe remains interested in maintaining a Russian military presence in the country. During the interview,... MORE

On May 17, Russian forces in Chechnya sustained what Izvestia characterized as their largest losses in a single day this year. The newspaper and other Russian media reported that three policemen and eight soldiers were killed when two military vehicles were blown up on the... MORE

Committee 2008-Free Choice, the democratic opposition group founded and headed by chess champion Garry Kasparov, has brought new members into its leadership and announced plans to broaden into a democratic coalition. One of its leading members, former Union of Right Forces (SPS) co-leader Boris Nemtsov,... MORE

On May 13 the Russian government approved a packet of 27 laws that are intended to double new house-building by 2010. The proposed laws include a new housing construction code, changes to the civil code and new legal protection for mortgage lending. The government plans... MORE

Georgia's Internal Affairs Ministry has deployed a 200-strong troop unit to the town of Tsalka, after at least 10 local residents were injured in clashes between ethnic Armenians and Georgians. The ministry plans to send in police reinforcements as well. Tensions and incidents of low-level... MORE

Georgia has requested the Council of Europe (CE) to recall its Tbilisi representative, and has severely criticized the CE's Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer in the wake of the events in Ajaria that resulted in the peaceful removal of local despot Aslan Abashidze. During those events, Schwimmer... MORE

It seems a marriage made in heaven. Growing energy giant Kazakhstan has tapped into China, the world's biggest market and a booming economy. Kazakhstan and China signed an agreement on May 17 on the construction of the Atasu-Alashankou oil pipeline which will connect western Kazakhstan... MORE