On June 18, the Federal National-Cultural Autonomy of Lezgins held its first conference in Moscow. Issues facing ethnic Lezgins and Avars, both of whom are divided between Dagestan and Azerbaijan, were discussed at the forum. The political importance of the event was reflected in the... MORE

The lull in street protests in Moscow is seen by President Vladimir Putin’s administration as a perfect opportunity to squeeze and discredit the leaders of the disunited opposition and thus to restore the political torpor that had been the norm of his reign until last... MORE

Turkey-Syria relations have entered a new stage after Syrian forces shot down a Turkish F-4 fighter jet on June 22 in international waters over the Mediterranean Sea. Syria claimed that the Turkish jet violated Syrian airspace, but Turkey protested that its aircraft was in Syrian... MORE

It came as a complete surprise when Chechen TV, on the evening of June 13, broadcast a meeting between Ramzan Kadyrov and Khizri Aldamov, who was the general representative in Georgia for the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from 1994-2004 and is now a Georgian... MORE

On June 28, the Shah Deniz gas producers’ consortium in Azerbaijan announced that it has selected the Nabucco-West pipeline project to be the route for Caspian gas into Central Europe. This decision is an immediate consequence of the Azerbaijan-Turkey inter-governmental agreement, signed on June 26,... MORE

The Azerbaijani-Turkish Trans-Anatolia gas pipeline project (TANAP), officially launched on June 26 (see EDM, June 27), is impacting a vast field ranging from Turkmenistan, across the South Caucasus and Turkey, to Central Europe and EU authorities in Brussels.This project encourages Turkmenistan to pursue a trans-Caspian... MORE

Recent weeks have seen a number of major narcotics busts in Tajikistan. On June 17, a border patrol found a cache containing almost 420 kilograms of cannabis in Shurobod district, on the country’s southern frontier with Afghanistan. On June 11, the authorities reported busting some... MORE

The United States’ military and security assistance initiatives in Central Asia have frequently aroused controversy in Moscow. Numerous aspects are perceived conspiratorially by the Russian leadership who regard such activities as ultimately designed to weaken Moscow’s influence in the region. Following the completion of the... MORE

Russian authorities are trying to dramatically change the situation in Dagestan. The strategically important North Caucasian republic has a 150-kilometer (93-mile) long border with Georgia and a 315-km (196-mile) long border with Azerbaijan. The republic also has 530 km (329 miles) of coastline on the... MORE

This week, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov clashed with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, publicly humiliating the former president. During a press-covered meeting of key cabinet ministers in a Soviet-built military residential neighborhood in the Moscow region (voenny gorodok Petrovskoye) Medvedev slammed the Defense Ministry for dragging... MORE