This week, in addition to the drama surrounding Yukos and its $7 billion tax bill, Moscow has been in the grip of a banking crisis. Panicking depositors have been cashing out their savings, causing long lines, and threatening the stability of several banks. The main... MORE

On June 21, the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya gazeta published a sensational report implicating Turkmenistani officials in the illegal drug trade. So far the revelations have apparently been overlooked both in Russia and Turkmenistan. During the interview with Nezavisimaya gazeta, the former deputy head of the... MORE

Historical, cultural, and linguistic links between Afghanistan and Iran have always encouraged close ties between the two countries. Frequent and close contacts continued between the two states until the Taliban came to power, ruling from 1996 to 2001. When the Taliban regime was deposed by... MORE

When Viktor Yanukovych was appointed Ukraine's prime minister in November 2002, he immediately became the heir-apparent for the 2004 presidential election. He was duly made the pro-presidential candidate when the campaign season formally opened on July 4. Initially, his inevitability was not considered significant, because... MORE

Tbilisi and the leaders of South Ossetia nearly came to blows this week, as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili continued his campaign to rein-in separatist republics. South Ossetian paramilitary groups had sealed off the main routes in and out of their capital, Tskhinvali, last month, but... MORE

On July 2 two members of the Islamic extremist organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir (Islamic Party of Liberation) were given two-year prison terms by authorities in Pavlodar, Northern Kazakhstan. Security forces had detained Arman Hamzin (age 29) and Ruslan Ghinatulin (22) two months ago for distributing Hizb-ut-Tahrir leaflets... MORE

In an interview published by two separatist websites on July 5-6, Chechen separatist president Aslan Maskhadov reiterated that he is ready for negotiations with the federal authorities, while claiming that his forces have the means to fight on for years, should the Kremlin choose to... MORE

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), already with a powerful say in the shape and planning of counter-terrorist operations in Chechnya, has disclosed serious concerns about remarks made by Chechen rebel commander Shamil Basayev on Al-Jazeera television. The FSB believes that future militant attacks may... MORE

One day after the Ukrainian presidential elections officially started on July 3, four major candidates filed their papers with the Central Election Commission. The oligarchic regional clans and political parties of the pro-presidential camp have united behind Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. His own Party of... MORE

At the June 28-29 NATO summit in Istanbul, both Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. President George W. Bush appealed for NATO to immediately deploy more NATO troops in Afghanistan to boost security for the upcoming September elections. The requests largely fell on deaf ears.... MORE