The distinctive feature of the kidnappings in the North Caucasus today is that they are apparently carried out only by Russian government forces. In fact, some analysts assert that the kidnappings of the earlier periods, ostensibly organized by Chechen militants between the first and the... MORE

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has decided to liquidate two large domestic banks. On June 11, the NBU said it would liquidate Brokbiznesbank (bank.gov.ua, June 11), and on June 16, it named Forum (bank.gov.ua, June 16). All in all, seven Ukrainian banks have sunk... MORE

On June 16, Russia suspended natural gas supplies to Ukraine over non-payment of debts for supplies already delivered. Russia would resume the supplies on condition that Ukraine pays in advance for any gas volume that it would request to import from Russia (pre-payment). On that... MORE

In the Duma, on June 18, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reportedly told deputies: “Russian troops are ready for any eventuality in Ukraine.” The Q & A with Shoigu was classified, but deputies still gave an outline of his statements. The defense minister confirmed Russian combat... MORE

Against the backdrop of the quickly unfolding situation in Ukraine—the annexation of Crimea and the guerrilla war in eastern Ukrainian—there are growing fears in Georgia that Russia will also use similar techniques, including elections or referenda, to annex Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgian politicians and... MORE

Two fundamental circumstances affect the incredibly close relationship between Belarus and Russia—the signing of the Eurasian Economic Union (EuEU) treaty, which goes into effect on January 1, 2015, as well as the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. Both circumstances exert ambivalent pressures on those relationships.... MORE

On June 8, residents of the village of Vinsady in Stavropol region’s Predgorny district rallied against government plans to allow the construction of a mosque. Six hundred people joined the protest against the authorities’ decision, but went home after a local official reassured them that... MORE

Russia’s response to the EuroMaidan, which dislodged president Viktor Yanukovych’s government, utilized a broad range of political and military tools leveraging Moscow’s influence in shaping the future of its close neighbor. It caught Western governments by surprise, stunned critics, silenced analysts, and left the public... MORE

Most Ukrainians and international observers are focusing on Russia’s invasion of southeastern Ukraine or on the possibility that Moscow will use forces from Moldova’s Transnistria to create a “Novorossiya” (“New Russia”) across southern Ukraine and eliminate Kyiv’s access to the Black Sea (see EDM, April... MORE

On May 27, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaliy Yarema promised journalists that the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) being conducted in the country’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions (Donbas) would be greatly intensified shortly following Petro Poroshenko’s inauguration (Interfax-Ukraine, May 27). However, during his inauguration speech... MORE