Georgian billionaire and aspirant to power, Bidzina Ivanishvili, has started selling some of his assets in Russia for liquidity. Some of the proceeds will probably be ploughed into Ivanishvili’s political operations in Georgia and third countries. Ivanishvili amassed his $6.4-billion worth  in Russia during the... MORE

On May 12, Ingushetia’s most well-known opposition organization Mehk-Khel published an address to the newly elected president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Ingushetia’s opposition called on Putin to dismiss the head of the region, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. The authors of the open letter cited “critical political and... MORE

With the world’s attention on London in the run-up to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, it is important to bear in mind that the next Olympics in 2014 will be held in the Russian Black Sea resort town of Sochi, which abuts some of the... MORE

Although President Viktor Yanukovych publicly portrays his foreign policy as multi-vector – balancing between Russia and the West – in reality, there has been a substantial shift in Ukraine’s orientation toward Russia (see EDM, November 3, 2009, January 20, 2010, January 29, 2010). Yanukovych’s multi-vectorism... MORE

Despite the slow pace of introducing new or modernized weapons and equipment into the table of organization and equipment (TOE) in Russia’s Armed Forces, there are signs that progress is more sporadic and prioritizes one strategic direction. The South Military District (SMD) is receiving new... MORE

The Arab Spring, especially the civil war in Libya and NATO’s “humanitarian intervention” in that conflict, has brought about much closer diplomatic cooperation between China and Russia. Their cooperation has consequently increased in response to efforts by the United States, its allies, and the Arab... MORE

A unique conjunction of external and internal circumstances suggests that Georgia’s upcoming parliamentary elections will be subjected to more (possibly far more) rigorous scrutiny, compared with elections in any of the former Soviet-ruled countries.International election observers are set to arrive in numbers unprecedented even for... MORE

On May 4, 17 Circassians from Syria arrived at the Mineralnye Vody airport, situated in the south of Stavropol region. Fourteen of the new repatriates moved to Kabardino-Balkaria and three to Adygea. About 100 repatriates from Syria have resettled in the North Caucasus after the... MORE

Instead of marking a closure for the turbulent period of ugly elections, Vladimir Putin’s presidential inauguration opened a new phase in the political crisis in Russia. The activities have centered again on Moscow where the heterogeneous opposition finds it remarkably easy to mobilize thousands of... MORE

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan has retained control over parliament and received a massive boost to his power as a result of the past weekend’s legislative elections, which his Republican Party (HHK) won by a landslide. Official results of the May 6 vote were a serious... MORE