Talks held by Georgia's State Minister for Conflict Settlement Giorgi Khaindrava on May 20-21 in Sukhumi with Abkhaz leaders indicate that changes are expected in Abkhazia, possibly in relations between Sukhumi and Tbilisi. Vladislav Ardzinba, president of the unrecognized republic for more than a decade... MORE

The "Hand of Tbilisi" will be a greater presence in post-Abashidze Ajaria. On May 18, the Georgian Parliament overwhelmingly (117/5) voted for a resolution, which allows for a one-month public discussion on a bill concerning Ajarian autonomy. A special commission is expected to analyze what... MORE

Recent news reports from Afghanistan indicate that the Taliban are very active this spring. The Kabul government says that the Taliban goal is to disrupt the upcoming elections in September. Taliban resurgence is largely evident in the Pashtun-dominated provinces of southern and eastern Afghanistan. But... MORE

In a poll taken among inhabitants of Russia's 12 largest cities earlier this month, 26 percent of respondents said that they had experienced mistreatment at the hands of police, ranging from rudeness, red tape and inaction to extortion, unjustified arrest and violence. The poll was... MORE

At the Russia-European Union (EU) summit on May 21, President Putin surprised observers by promising to move ahead with ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 treaty under which developed nations pledge to bring their greenhouse gas emissions below the 1990 level by 2012. In... MORE

Tatyana Zhdanoka, a leftist opponent of Latvian national statehood, is the candidate of the largest Russian political bloc in Latvia in European Parliament elections. She is frontrunner for that seat, campaigning amidst unprecedented political activity by Russian radical groups in Latvia. Zhdanoka is a veteran... MORE

In the run-up to the NATO summit in Istanbul (June 28-29), Russian President Vladimir Putin is signalling that he might honor the event with his presence "[if] the conditions will be right" (NATO press release, May 17). Putin's conditions apparently include NATO acceptance of Russia's... MORE

If there is any idea today that is uniting all of the different people fond of calling themselves the Russian political "elite," it is the idea of "dominating in the post-Soviet space," which implies in one way or another the resurrection of the Russian-Soviet Empire.... MORE

On May 19, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev addressed the State Duma in closed hearings concerning the situation in Chechnya and the investigation of the May 9 assassination of Chechnya's Kremlin-backed President Akhmad Kadyrov. According to one account, Nurgaliev told legislators that the situation in Chechnya... MORE

The Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. (KPO) announced on May 20 that it has begun delivering oil to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPC) main export pipeline. The pipeline mostly serves the large Tengiz onshore oil field, operated by ChevronTexaco. The KPO consortium includes British Gas and... MORE