The conflict that arose after Russia’s temporary ban on imports from 23 Belarusian meat processors and on Belarusian food transit to Kazakhstan (see EDM, December 3) has not been resolved yet. During the first week of December, Belarusian officials at all levels of government expressed... MORE

On November 26, a counter-terrorist operation regime was lifted in Untsukul district, located in the mountains of Dagestan. Introduced back in March, the regime was lifted, but the Gimry tunnel remains closed for through traffic. The Gimry tunnel connects the mountainous districts of the republic... MORE

On November 29, a television station styling itself “the National Television of Talyshton” (“Tolyshystoni Millaiiya Vindasado”—TMV) began broadcasting in Azerbaijan under the direction of Talysh poet Zabig Madozh. One year ago, Madozh launched a YouTube video service in the Talysh language, and he insists that... MORE

Renato Usatyi’s “Patria” party, a Russian entry in Moldova’s political arena (see EDM, December 3, 4), propagated three messages in this campaign: 1) against the European Union, and for the Russia-led Customs Union/Eurasian Union; 2) against the Moldovan Communist Party’s leadership under Vladimir Voronin, so... MORE

The Democratic Party of billionaire Vlad Plahotniuc is the second-largest in the tripartite Pro-Europe Coalition (PEC). The November 30 elections saw the Democratic Party advance to 16 percent of the votes cast, and 23 parliamentary seats (up from 12.5 percent and 19 parliamentary seats in... MORE

Since Russia’s almost effortless annexation of Crimea in March 2014, the country’s political-military leadership has promised an adequate defense reinforcement of the peninsula. This would build on existing Russian military infrastructure in Crimea, particularly associated with the basing of the Black Sea Fleet; since the... MORE

The “Putinian Pax Energetica”—Russia’s strategic use of energy exports and pipeline politics to influence countries in its neighborhood—is faltering, and Italy now appears to be taking countermeasures to deal with it. On December 1, during a state visit to Turkey, Russian President Vladimir Putin finally... MORE

On November 26, the city court in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, sentenced a man accused of fighting in the Syrian civil war to four years in prison. This is the first time in Kabardino-Balkaria that a person was convicted and sentenced for taking part in the Syrian... MORE

The Kremlin has a lot to explain following the dangerous deterioration of Russia’s international situation and the drastic degradation of its economy. And President Vladimir Putin opted in his annual address to the Federal Assembly, delivered last Thursday (see EDM, December 4) to provide one... MORE

Since the fall of 2014, Tashkent has been boosting diplomatic engagement with its neighbors (see Part One in EDM, October 3). In particular, Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov met with President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan in Dushanbe on September 11 (press-service.uz September 13, 2014), and visited... MORE