The news from Dagestan in September was dominated by reports of militant actions, special operations and terror attacks, but the most worrying development has been the occurrence of multiple kidnappings by both security forces and militants. Indeed, kidnappings are the only events that lead people... MORE

On October 2 and 3, Kazakhstan’s capital hosted an annual gathering of the Kazenergy Association, which is comprised of 50 of the biggest players in the oil and gas sectors as well as the non-hydrocarbon sector, including foreign and domestic companies. The association was created... MORE

The ethnically and culturally complex region of the Fergana Valley is divided among three countries: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The Kyrgyz and the Tajik parts of the Fergana Valley are geographically closer to Uzbekistan than to the capitals of their own countries. Tashkent is only... MORE

On September 20, the Tatar youth activist organization Azatlyk staged a protest in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. The activists countered the demands of Tatarstan’s Russian population to drop the Tatar language from the curriculum of the republic’s public schools. The leader of Azatlyk, Nail... MORE

On September 20, the Tatar youth activist organization Azatlyk staged a protest in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. The activists countered the demands of Tatarstan’s Russian population to drop the Tatar language from the curriculum of the republic’s public schools. The leader of Azatlyk, Nail... MORE

The latest top-level meeting of the oldest post-Soviet grouping, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), pledged to enact their free trade arrangements next year. However, the CIS free trade zone (FTZ) agreement has not been ratified by some signatory nations, while other CIS member states... MORE

Serbia is the key target of Russian foreign policy in the Western Balkans, as Moscow’s main strategic objective remains forestalling the European democratic integration in the Balkans and Eastern Europe as a whole. In that context, keeping Serbia out of NATO and the EU preserves... MORE

On September 26, Belarus released two of the 13 political prisoners listed in a resolution of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in July 2012 (Nasha Niva, September 27; tut.by, July 7). Sergei Kovalenko, the better known of the two, was imprisoned for affixing a white-red-white flag... MORE

On September 21, Russian Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov announced that Moscow plans to nominate the controversial Commander of the Airborne Forces (Vozdushno Desantnye Voyska–VDV), Colonel-General Vladimir Shamanov for the post of Chief of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Moscow-based observers... MORE

Uzbekistan potentially has one of the strongest economies in Eurasia, but certain weaknesses constrain its development. The country has been experiencing strong growth rates of 6-8 percent annually for the past few years, while the government has kept its annual budget deficit and overall public... MORE