Leading opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko is the target of a range of dirty tricks intended to defeat his bid to succeed Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. As Russian political commentator Andrei Piontkovsky wrote in Ukrayinska pravda on September 10, "The basic strategy of the outside... MORE

September 6-16 saw a frantic period of activity in Belarus, as candidates applied to the Central Election Commission to be registered for the October 17 election to the House of Representatives. Unlike the parliamentary race in 2000, all opposition parties except for the Conservative Christian... MORE

The tragedy in Beslan left local Ossetians with the question, "Who is to blame?" After terrorists seized the school, the first reaction from Beslan's residents was to take revenge on their neighbors -- the Ingush. Official statements that the hostage-takers came from Ingushetia immediately lit... MORE

Kyrgyzstan has increased its security cooperation with China in an effort to enhance its anti-terrorist capabilities. Since the deployment of U.S. military forces to Ganci airbase in Manas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, the Kyrgyz authorities have continued to finely balance relations... MORE

The competition between Beijing and Tokyo for Eastern Siberia's natural resources has garnered increasing world media attention over the last six months. The latest iteration of the story has Japan prepared to supply nearly $10 billion to help support construction of an oil pipeline from... MORE

Nezavisimaya gazeta reported today (September 20) that in parallel with the Kremlin's restructuring of the country's system of governance in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks, the State Duma's Committee on Constitutional Law and State Construction is drafting legislation that would "restore the Soviet... MORE

In a sign of rising ethnic tensions in the wake of the Beslan school massacre, four people from the Caucasus were hospitalized after being beaten and stabbed in the late evening of September 18 by a group of up to 50 youths on the Moscow... MORE

Although Russian President Vladimir Putin was given the symbolic position of chairman of the CIS Council at the end of last week's summit in Astana, the gathering demonstrated that Russia has no coherent policy that would help it maintain a leadership position in the former... MORE

Since the Eurasian Economic Community emerged in October 2000, Kazakhstan has earned an ambiguous reputation as a force driving CIS integration. Speaking at the September 15 mini-summit of the Single Economic Space (SES) countries in Astana, President Nursultan Nazarbayev reaffirmed Kazakhstan's commitment to the idea... MORE

On Saturday September 18, opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, the front-runner in the October presidential elections, spoke in front of 70,000 supporters in Kyiv upon his return from Vienna. Yushchenko warned the authorities, "We will not be poisoned!" Bullets or KamAZ trucks would not destroy those... MORE