Mongolian Prime Minister Norov Altankhuyag’s September 11–14, 2013 trip to Japan, his first overseas visit since becoming head of government in 2012, underscored the new vibrancy in Mongolian-Japanese relations. This visit reciprocated the very successful one of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Ulaanbaatar in... MORE

Kazakhstan is considering adopting measures to modernize its security structures, though somewhat surprisingly this has nothing to do with Astana’s assessment of a possible impact on Central Asian security stemming from the drawdown of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from Afghanistan. The reasons for... MORE

Russia’s Muslims continue to be radicalized not only by developments within their own community but increasingly by events in the Middle East, according to Yana Amelina, an analyst who works for a Russian research group that has close ties with the Kremlin. Her views provide... MORE

On September 25, the deputy chairman of Kazakhstan’s national space agency Kazkosmos, Erkin Shaimagambetov, officially announced his administration’s decision to allow Russia to carry out a new launch of its Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 30. The following day, Kazakhstan’s Environment Protection... MORE

The government of Azerbaijan wants the United States to exert greater influence in the South Caucasus, but is actually seeing less of it under the administration of President Barack Obama; and the ways of that involvement have not always been productive. Azerbaijan continues to believe... MORE

On September 25, Dagestani Supreme Court Judge Mukhtar Shapiev was killed in Makhachkala. Two assailants shot the judge and his son near the entrance to their apartment block in the republican capital. Shapiev only oversaw civil cases, so he did not have the government protection... MORE

Each time President Vladimir Putin seeks to assert the restoration of political stability in Russia and capture some moral high ground, an embarrassing case of blatant repression comes up to undermine his claim. His orchestrated moment of political triumph at the meeting of the Valdai... MORE

On September 19, a roundtable on inter-ethnic relations took place in Simferopol, Crimea. At this gathering, the European Union’s Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara and other members of Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers, deputies of... MORE

The Bulgarian government intends to intensify its economic relations with Russia, according to Socialist party leader Sergey Stanishev. “This is a way for our country to develop as a modern and technologically advanced economy,” Stanishev told the annual gathering of Bulgarian Russophiles in early September.... MORE

Negotiating a phased withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan’s territory is the top national security priority for Baku. Recent trends in the region pose additional challenges to Azerbaijan in the run-up to its presidential election. These include: Russia’s growing clout, Armenia’s decision to join the... MORE