Recent developments clearly indicate that China and Russia are stepping up their efforts to claim a larger share of Kazakhstan's energy sector. The growing appetite of Kazakhstan's giant neighbors comes at a time when prices for gas and diesel oil in Kazakhstan, the second largest... MORE

October 12 marked the end of the 40-day Orthodox mourning period for victims of the Beslan siege in North Ossetia. The period following a funeral is sacred for Orthodox believers, and tradition prevents anyone from calling for revenge during this time. But now that the... MORE

Some 150 years ago Russian Tsar Nicolas I, who was considered one of the Old Continent's most powerful rulers, contemptuously called the Ottoman Turkish Empire the "sick man of Europe." Had the arrogant autocrat been able to see contemporary developments, he would have been tremendously... MORE

The October 3 presidential election in Abkhazia has produced a far greater reaction in the Russian media than the scale of Russia's involvement in this Georgian separatist region or indeed the importance of the choices in these elections should merit (Kommersant, October 7, 8; Nezavisimaya... MORE

As Ukraine's presidential election approach, the authorities are increasingly nervous about the increased visibility of youth NGOs monitoring the election. October has seen an especially large number of intimidation tactics and violence targeted against these groups. On October 4, Tetiana and Oleksandr Batrak, Donetsk-based activists... MORE

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov received their Ukrainian counterparts, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yanukovych, on October 9 at the Novo-Ogarevo residence near Moscow. Ostensibly a private affair to celebrate Putin's birthday, it was used for Putin's ringing public endorsement of Yanukovych's... MORE

Russia's perennial introspection within its security elites, pondering the troubles that have so beset its armed forces generally and in Chechnya specifically, has again broached the idea of creating professional servicemen within its units deployed in Chechnya, and Tajikistan. Hailed as a potential panacea for... MORE

Recent Russian proposals for debt-equity swaps in Central Asia and the Caucasus represent a bold new strategy for extending Russia's influence in the southern tier. Debt-for-equity swaps involve trading debt for ownership shares in enterprises. For more than a decade Russian financial officials have been... MORE

The government of Kazakhstan is targeting the three Baltic states as possible avenues for closer relations with the European Union. In the first years of Baltic-Kazakhstan relations, the Kazakh side invariably stressed the priority of mutual economic interests. This over-cautious attitude was partly prompted by... MORE

Various Russian media have reported that a bill will soon be introduced into the State Duma that will turn the post of city mayor from an elected position into an appointed one. According to the Gazeta newspaper, the proposed system for choosing mayors is likely... MORE