Revelations of improper and conveniently forgotten meetings and conversations with Russian officials bedevil the Donald Trump administration with such relentless intensity that its ability to perform the basic functions of government has been compromised. The grandfatherly looking Russian ambassador to Washington, Sergei Kislyak, is being... MORE

Almost a year has passed since fierce fighting broke out for four days in April 2016, between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops in Karabakh. However, the situation along the Line of Contact (LoC) remains tense and explosive to this day. According to the February 26 statement... MORE

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced, on February 11, that Ukroboronprom (a state-owned association of multi-product enterprises in the defense industry) has successfully tested a new type of domestically produced air-to-ground rocket with impressive technical characteristics (Pravda.com.ua, February 11). This 80 millimeter caliber munition can be... MORE

United States President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress this week (February 28) did not mention the true elephant in the room—his administration’s plans regarding future US relations with Russia. He also said nothing about the possible pre-election and post-election contacts members... MORE

Ukraine has just concluded its month-long role as rotating president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) during February 2017. Kyiv has specifically pledged to use this high-level international forum to confront Moscow for its aggression and to seek reimbursement for the damages Ukraine has... MORE

Some 78,000 Georgians, led by several opposition political parties and civic activists, marched in the streets of downtown Tbilisi, on February 19, to protest against the alleged government attempt to take over the Rustavi 2 TV station (Channel 1 TV, February 19). Rustavi 2 has... MORE

The Russian budget for 2017–2019, which the State Duma (lower chamber of parliament) adopted last December, predicts that federal budget revenues will continue to decline in the next three years and will drop to 15 percent of GDP by 2019. This would be the lowest... MORE

In late January, groups of self-identified veterans and several controversial Ukrainian people’s deputies began blocking railways linking the territory of Donbas (provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk) controlled by Moscow-backed militants to areas controlled by the central government. They say that it is wrong to trade... MORE

Even though fertility rates have fallen in Central Asia over the last two decades, the earlier rise in the number of births means that the populations of these countries continue to grow far more rapidly than anywhere else in the former Soviet space. Tajikistan is... MORE

A series of protests in Minsk and regional cities in recent weeks made headlines both inside Belarus and abroad (see EDM, February 21). The fact that they gathered the largest number of protesters in almost seven years sparked active discussions among commentators and on social... MORE