Newly inaugurated Russian President Vladimir Putin has given clear signals that the military will experience a fresh wave of reform during his first six-year term in office. Putin is also likely to play hardball with Washington on missile defense, as shown by the threat to... MORE

Ukraine’s two largest opposition parties – Fatherland, which is headed by the imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and the Front of Change (FZ) whose leader is the former parliamentary speaker and former foreign minister, Arseny Yatsenyuk – have agreed to join forces for the... MORE

On May 3, a double suicide attack shattered a large police checkpoint on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the principal city of Dagestan. According to government sources, 13 persons died in the attack and another 100 were injured (https://ria.ru/incidents/20120504/640710463.html, May 4). The first bomb contained an... MORE

Vladimir Putin’s presidential inauguration has taken place today in the Kremlin with all the ceremonial pomp and fanfare that is supposed to create the impression of invincibility of his quasi-monarchic reign. Later this week, he will appoint Dmitri Medvedev as the Prime Minister in acknowledgement... MORE

Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambaev, in an interview with the Russian daily Kommersant on April 10, said that while some may want to drive a wedge between Russia and Kyrgyzstan, “this will be hard to do.” Considering Atambayev’s streak of bewildering statements on Russia, and Kyrgyzstan’s... MORE

The Azeri-Turkish agreements of late 2011 have opened up real possibilities for effecting positive gains in the European and trans-Caspian energy equation. These agreements arranging for the transport of Azeri gas to Turkey and beyond create for the first time both a dedicated pipeline to... MORE

The developments in Iraqi domestic politics, coupled with their regional implications, continue to drag Turkey deeper into Middle Eastern affairs, while its involvement in the Syrian conflict already occupies a large part of Ankara’s foreign policy agenda. The ongoing power struggle between Iraqi Prime Minister... MORE

Recent events in and around Chechnya indicate a high level of tensions in the republic that also have become endemic in most parts of the North Caucasus. While being under Moscow’s control, Chechnya still is the main destabilizer of the region.According to the Chechen Interior... MORE

Vladimir Putin (59) has this week chaired his last meeting of the Russian government as Prime Minister. His presidential inauguration for a third six-year term is pending on May 7. The outgoing president, Dmitry Medvedev, is to be approved as Prime Minister at a special... MORE

The Ukrainian government is negotiating the issue of ruble-denominated government bonds, making the country no longer reliant on IMF assistance. Ukraine’s 2010 IMF assistance package of $15.6 billion was suspended in March 2011 because of Ukraine’s refusal to continue with IMF reforms, in particular raising... MORE