On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tashkent, June 16-17, a historic agreement was signed between Russia and Uzbekistan, which paves the way towards closer bilateral cooperation, as well as potentially undermining the significance of the role of the U.S. Russian... MORE

The Uzbekistan population is receptive to the idea of returning Russia to Uzbekistan as an investor and strategic partner. A recent poll conducted in the Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent clearly indicated that people from diverse socio-economic groups and different ethnic backgrounds view the meeting between... MORE

On June 17, Chaghcharan, the capital of Ghor province in northwestern Afghanistan fell to the hands of a renegade commander Abdul Salam. The governor appointed by the central government has fled for his life. This is the third time in as many months that an... MORE

On June 21, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told military journalists that Russia would only withdraw its troops from the Batumi and Akhalkalaki bases after receipt of US$300 million in "cost-offsets." This amount is a throwback to Moscow's opening gambits in earlier stages of negotiations,... MORE

A historic large-scale Russian military exercise is currently in progress, testing the ability of the armed forces to deploy high-readiness and reserve units rapidly across Russian territory. The operational strategic military exercise, codenamed Mobility 2004, began at 0800 (Moscow time) on June 9, with three... MORE

After more than a decade of independence, the majority of Kazakhs feel deeply disillusioned with post-Soviet development of their country. Many are tormented with gnawing doubts whether Kazakhstan has really become independent of Moscow. The lingering nostalgia of older Russians for the socialist motherland clashes... MORE

The sudden and unexpected killing of 29-year old pro-Taliban tribal leader Nek Mohammad by a laser-guided missile on the night of June 17 is fueling speculation about a broader "secret" cooperation between US forces in Afghanistan and the Pakistani military operating in the tribal territory... MORE

Russian observers, like their US counterparts, have been reacting to President Vladimir Putin's assertion that Russian intelligence agencies had received information that Saddam Hussein's regime was planning terrorist attacks against American targets and had warned US intelligence. Putin made the comment on June 18 while... MORE

Lithuanian Social-Democrat Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas, and voters who look to him for leadership, hold the key to the outcome of the June 27 presidential election runoff in Lithuania. Brazauskas, one of the founding fathers of the restored Lithuanian state and a successful president and... MORE

In the best traditions of investigative journalism, the opposition Ukrayinska Pravda (June 3 and 11) newspaper has uncovered, for the first time, how Ukrainian oligarchs and their Russian advisers censor the Ukrainian media. Censorship operates through the use of secret instructions (temnyky) sent to television... MORE