The ongoing political and legal stand-off between the Georgian government and the opposition over the ownership of the Rustavi 2 TV channel (Rustavi 2, Media.ge, October 2; see EDM, October 26) has become even more tense as new wiretapped recordings surfaced on October 29. The... MORE

Chechen authorities claim that a group of 20 young Chechens and Ingush studying in Moscow tried to leave Russia for Syria and were stopped at the last moment. According to Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov, Western security services are constantly seeking to undermine Russia’s prestige (Instagram.com,... MORE

On October 31, a Russian charter passenger jet, Airbus A321 Metrojet Flight 9268, disintegrated in midair some 23 minutes after takeoff from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, Russia, killing all 224 people on board, mostly Russian tourists. Metrojet Flight 9268 crashed... MORE

As part of a regional visit, the co-chairs (representatives of the United States, France and Russia) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group visited the Armenian capital of Yerevan on October 26. The next day, they traveled to Karabakh and met... MORE

Moldova is experiencing a political coup, executed by billionaire Vlad Plahotniuc’s team within the “pro-Europe” coalition government, and coordinated with leftist and pro-Russia parties in the parliament and outside it. The aim of this operation is to expand and guarantee Plahotniuc’s control of Moldova’s state... MORE

Many young Dagestani men wish to serve as conscripts in the Russian army, but are rejected on the grounds of their ethnic identity. In the fall of 2015, Moscow ordered the authorities to supply 1,500 conscripts for the Russian armed forces. During this past spring’s... MORE

Ethnic-Russian flight from the Far East is again increasing, after appearing to stabilize a few years ago. This development not only changes the balance of ethnic groups living there—few non-Russians are leaving, and many have higher fertility rates than the Russians—but also shifts the region’s... MORE

As negotiations drag on between Beijing and Bishkek over the technical and financial aspects of constructing the Kyrgyzstani part of the planned China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, Uzbekistan, with Chinese monetary and technical assistance, is nearing the completion of its section of the railroad. In early September 2015,... MORE

Moldova seems about to become the second state in Europe’s East, after Georgia, to be captured by the wealthiest local businessman—in Moldova’s case, the billionaire Vlad Plahotniuc. He and Georgia’s Bidzina Ivanishvili share some common traits, including their lack of commitment to a European orientation.... MORE

Since Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s air operations in Syria, Russian experts and commentators have attempted to interpret this policy shift. Putin and other members of the political-military leadership claim the intervention is limited to sending arms to Damascus and conducting air operations... MORE