The last Soviet leader and the first post-Soviet Russian president have waded into the debate swirling around President Vladimir Putin's proposals to end popular elections for the governors in Russia's 89 regions and abolish State Duma seats for deputies elected in single-mandate constituencies. Gorbachev criticized... MORE

CIS heads of state gathered in Astana on September 15-16 for a scheduled Commonwealth of Independent States summit meeting. Such meetings usually serve as a forum that projects a semblance of former Soviet unity but renders few practical achievements. This meeting, however, witnessed renewed hopes... MORE

For the first time since 1991, a Moldovan president has boycotted a CIS summit, proclaiming a one-directional European orientation rather than balancing between Europe and Russia. Vladimir Voronin recently allowed Moldova's official media to criticize Russia for blocking a political settlement in Trans-Dniester and appealed... MORE

This week Moscow issued two landmark announcements. On Monday (September 13), President Vladimir Putin unveiled a radical restructuring of the political system that greatly increases executive authority. One day later, Gazprom's takeover of Rosneft was officially endorsed (see EDM, September 15). Many analysts detected a... MORE

Afghan President Hamid Karzai kicked off his re-election campaign with a September 12 press conference in Kabul. Many of his opponents or their representatives have also begun to carry their messages to various provinces (VOA, September 12). Despite the full-throttle campaigning, there are questions about... MORE

The U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, Richard Miles, has weighed in on Russian media and official allegations that Georgia is harboring terrorists and thus is a possible target for preemptive strikes. Miles surprised the Georgian political establishment and reporters with critical remarks about the Georgian government's... MORE

The radical shakeup of Russia's system of power recently announced by President Vladimir Putin will further inhibit political pluralism. This shift away from democracy and toward more authoritarian practices will likely hinder Russia's long-term cooperation with the West, independent experts predict. This Russian retreat has... MORE

According to recent high-profile statements from the Russian political and military leadership, Russia is effectively at war with terrorists -- again. Many would argue that Russia has been at war with a form of terrorism in its ongoing decade-long conflict in Chechnya, officially portrayed as... MORE

Opinion polls are again at the center of Ukraine's 2004 presidential elections. The gap between Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych continues to remain stable at 5-8% (Ukrayinska pravda, September 9). Throughout the year Yushchenko's ratings have increased from 21 to 30% and Yanukovych's... MORE

In yet another move apparently aimed at strengthening the Kremlin's "vertical of power" in the wake of the Beslan tragedy, President Vladimir Putin on September 14 gave a green light to the Gazprom natural gas monopoly to acquire the state-owned oil company Rosneft. Putin also... MORE