The 21-year “Smirnov era” is over in Transnistria, the secessionist enclave in eastern Moldova. The Kremlin has finally dumped Transnistria’s antiquated “president,” Igor Smirnov. A new-generation candidate, Yevgeniy Shevchuk, defeated both Smirnov and Moscow’s official choice, Supreme Soviet chairman Anatoly Kaminski, in the recent “presidential”... MORE

The activities of the resistance movement in the North Caucasus have tended to spread unevenly across the region so far. The northeastern part of the Caucasus has certainly been leading the resistance for the past 12 years. As we move toward the west, from the... MORE

As the new American ambassador – Michael McFaul – arrived in Moscow, the policy of improving Russo-US relations, known as “reset,” began to unravel. McFaul, as director for Russia and Eurasia on the US National Security Council, was considered the designer of the reset policy.... MORE

While press attention on developments in Russia focused on the disputed parliamentary elections and the following protests, which seemed to revive political activism in Moscow and other urban centers, there have been some military developments that deserve some attention. One such theme is an old... MORE

As the upheaval and confusion in Russia’s Armed Forces persists, stemming from the reform initiated in the fall of 2008, intermittent “comfort” has been sought by resorting to number crunching. The defense ministry leadership and top brass offer the reassuring figure of “one million” men... MORE

On January 22, the Circassian activist organization Adyge Khase-Circassian Parliament met in Adygea’s capital Maikop and resolved to hold a conference on the repatriation of Circassians from Syria. The conference is expected to take place in Adygea on February 11. The activists also called on... MORE

The Bulgarian Parliament has indefinitely suspended shale gas exploration and extraction in the country under public pressure from environmentalist groups. The moratorium will affect shale gas and oil exploration on the entire territory of Bulgaria and along its Black Sea shore (Bulgarian National Television, January... MORE

The head of the under-secretariat for the defense industry, Murad Bayar, has outlined Turkey’s armaments objectives in coming years. This year, Turkey plans to finish tests on several national weapons systems that have been developed and move to the serial production phase. In the next... MORE

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire seeking political power in Georgia, is recruiting political allies to his proprietary Georgian Dream movement, ahead of parliamentary elections. A newcomer to politics, Ivanishvili started out by dismissing all of the numerous factions in the extra-parliamentary opposition as useless (he admitted... MORE

Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili has appointed his wife, Ekaterine Khvedelidze, as leader of his Georgian Dream movement. Its legal status is that of a “public,” i.e. a non-political organization. However, Georgian Dream pursues the declared goals of turning into a political party, winning the 2012... MORE