The much-discussed Pankisi gorge involving Chechen refugees has reappeared on the agenda of Georgian-Russian relations. On a visit to Georgia on June 8-9, a delegation of the Russian federal migration service led by Boris Yunashin, vainly attempted to persuade an estimated 2,000 Chechen refugees situated... MORE

On June 14, Ukraine's two largest oligarchic clans undertook what are likely to be one of the first of many insider privatizations before this year's elections in October. Ninety-three percent of shares in Ukraine's largest steel producer Kryvorizhstal were purchased for a staggeringly low sum... MORE

Are the Russian government and the Kremlin's political party pushing for a law that would give the state the power to nationalize private businesses? Earlier this month, one of United Russia's leaders, Oleg Morozov, said in an interview that his party was working on a... MORE

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov appears poised to gain full control over the Russian General Staff, bringing to a close his personal antagonism toward Chief of General Staff General Anatoliy Kvashnin. A proposed law on defense, which passed its second stage in the Duma last... MORE

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania held on June 13 their first-ever elections for the Brussels-based European Parliament, the legislative body of the European Union (EU). Fortuitously but fittingly, the election date coincided with the annual observances of the Day of Memory and Hope (June 14), when... MORE

For the second time this year, the Pakistani military has begun another massive foray into the Waziristan tribal belt on Afghanistan's southeastern border to capture elusive pro-al Qaeda foreign militants sheltered by the tribesmen. After its humiliating failure in March during a similar operation, the... MORE

During the night of June 11-12, a massive convoy of Russian Army trucks, carrying tarpaulin-covered cargoes, reportedly entered Georgia's territory in South Ossetia via the Roki tunnel from Russian territory. It is assumed that the trucks carried military equipment and troops. The Russian military did... MORE

Evidently Russia wants to intensify its role at the six-power talks on North Korea's nuclear program. But it is doing so by carving out a position at odds with Washington's stance and which only facilitates Pyongyang's nuclearization. Moscow is calling for security guarantees for North... MORE

On June 10, labor unions organized protests in 300 cities across Russia, the first nationwide protests since President Vladimir Putin took office in 2000. A modest crowd of 1,500 gathered in heavy rain in Moscow to protest wage arrears and the new government plan to... MORE

The content of a presidential address is not as important as its value as drama, with all the theatrical elements, including plot line, culmination and denouement. However, it is highly unlikely that a presidential address has ever been in the epicenter of very important events... MORE