In February, the Iranian government extradited five members of the same family originating from Hamadoni district, in southern Tajikistan, back to their home country (Radio Ozodi, March 2). Abdulfayz Vazirov, 33, and his sister Mohira Salimova, 32, left Tajikistan for Russia in the summer of... MORE

The issue of closer defense cooperation among the three Baltic States—Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia—was raised again, on March 3, by defense professionals and distinguished speakers from the United Kingdom and the United States, during a conference on “Social Resilience Against Hybrid Threats in the Baltic... MORE

Georgia’s seaport city of Batumi suddenly erupted in violence, on the night of March 11–12, as hundreds of protesters descended on the city streets, overturning, destroying, and burning police and civilian cars, throwing rocks, and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake (Ajaratv.ge, March... MORE

Efforts by non-Russian countries to shed Moscow-imposed monuments—from the destruction of Vladimir Lenin statues in the Baltic countries in 1991, to Ukraine’s current effort at de-communizing the public space in that country by taking down memorials to Soviet murderers and renaming streets, cities and towns—have... MORE

Belarusians continue to protest the presidential decree on social parasites (DSP). Already, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has backed off, if only in part. Short of abandoning the infamous decree altogether, he postponed its implementation by one year. At the same time, three opposition leaders who tried... MORE

The continued and entrenched inter-governmental conflict in Moscow over the size of funding for the new State Armaments Program to 2025 (Gosudarstvennaya Programma Vooruzheniya—GPV) has pit the defense and finance ministries against one another. Nevertheless, it appears that the military will procure more high-technology assets once... MORE

On February 25, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko approved an Information Security Doctrine to address this specific subset of the “numerous national security threats faced by Ukraine” (President.gov.ua, February 25). In describing the main threats to the country in the domain of information security, the document... MORE

Armenia—Russia’s closest ally in the South Caucasus—appears intent on revitalizing its partnership with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This agenda turned explicit on February 27–28, when Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan paid a visit to Brussels. Besides holding several important meetings with high-level European Union... MORE

The whirlwind of Russian scandals continues to spread across government offices in Washington, DC; but in Moscow the impression is gradually forming that those scandals will soon blow over, so it is time to prepare Russia’s diplomatic moves and pile up the bargaining chips. The... MORE

During the third ministerial meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council, held in Baku, on February 23, the European Commission’s vice president for the Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič, encouraged international financial institutions to bankroll the SGC project (Trend, February 23). Amidst volatile oil... MORE