Russian officials reiterated pledges to boost economic cooperation with Tajikistan. Meanwhile, the authorities in Dushanbe seemed to remain hesitant on some issues, notably the country’s possible membership in the Russian-led economic grouping, the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. When Russian President Vladimir Putin... MORE

During the second half of September 2012, several Armenian news agencies reported that Khojali Airport in Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Karabakh was about to be reopened (news.am, September 26). The Khojali Airport near Khankendi (also called Stepanakert in Armenian) was built in 1974 and was... MORE

October in Ingushetia started off in the usual way, with routine shootouts and attacks on military personnel. There were, however, more important events for the republican government to attend to, such as the picketing that the Ingush opposition managed to stage in Moscow. The governor... MORE

Last week, US federal prosecutors announced they have broken up a network of Russian agents that allegedly supplied the Russian military, intelligence agencies and defense industry with smuggled US-made electronic and microchip components. A Houston company, Arc Electronics Inc., allegedly illegally shipped some $50 million... MORE

Last week, Russia and Tajikistan signed a deal to extend the lease on Russia’s military bases in Tajikistan for another 30 years until 2042 (Ozodi, September 6). The final deal was struck during an October 5 visit by Vladimir Putin to Dushanbe on the occasion... MORE

On October 6, the head of Kabardino-Balkaria, Arsen Kanokov held a meeting of his government’s anti-terrorist commission in the town of Baksan. Kanokov met with the parents of suspected insurgents. The town of Baksan was chosen for the meeting because Baksan district is known as... MORE

President Vladimir Putin quietly celebrated his 60th birthday on October 7 behind the high walls of one of his residences. But his minions, viceroys and oligarchs across the country are trying to outdo one another with gifts and other manifestations of loyalty (RBC Daily, October... MORE

Minsk received bad news and good news this week concerning its foreign policy allies. Shortly after Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement Party suffered defeat in the parliamentary elections, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez won reelection in Venezuela. Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed that he was... MORE

Kazakhstan has recently participated in international military exercises with its NATO partners as well as through the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in what at first sight appears to confirm that its multi-vector foreign policy also strongly influences its defense and security policy. Nonetheless, the... MORE

The Lak National Council was established at a conference in Makhachkala on September 28 that was attended by 427 delegates from Dagestan’s Lak, Novolak and Kuli districts and towns with a significant population of ethnic Laks. The former head of the Dagestani branch of the... MORE