As Western nations and the Arab League are pressing a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that seeks to ease President Bashar al-Assad out of power and condemn the regime for its violence against protesters, Russia has been steadfastly resisting, threatening to use its UN... MORE

“With the decline of America’s global preeminence, weaker countries will be more susceptible to the assertive influence of major regional powers,” writes Zbigniew Brzezinski in his recent Foreign Policy essay (https://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/03/8_geopolitically_endangered_species?page=full). With this in mind, Brzezinski included Belarus in his list of eight “geopolitically endangered... MORE

On January 31, the state of emergency ended as scheduled in Zhanaozen, the oil town devastated on December 16 when an oil-workers’ strike degenerated into riots. Most of the town’s public edifices and business establishments were attacked in one way or another, looted and set... MORE

The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have held yet another Russian-mediated meeting that was apparently intended to help their Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, save face after three years of intensive but unsuccessful efforts to broker a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The summit hosted by... MORE

On January 26, the Russian general staff reported the results of the fall 2011 draft. The deputy chief of the general staff, Vasily Smirnov, said that 135,800 young people across the Russian Federation had been drafted, and that none of them came from Chechnya. Smirnov... MORE

One reason why Kazakhstan, despite its small population and remote location from the world’s major economic and political centers of influence, has been able to exercise considerable influence in global affairs is that it attracts enormous foreign investment. Along with its oil wealth, foreign investors... MORE

Speaking at a government meeting on January 18, Tajikistan’s Defense Minister Sherali Khayrulloyev said India has become one of his ministry’s key international partners. This statement reflects deepening defense cooperation between India and Tajikistan. The strong ties between the two militaries date back to the... MORE

Despite continued pledges to counter security challenges in Central Asia, the Russian-led security alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), appears to face constant disagreements between member nations. The CSTO, which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is aimed at jointly facing... MORE

Confidence in the viability of the Nabucco project – at least in its version envisaged from 2004 to 2011 – seems to be fading all around. On January 25, the Nabucco consortium’s management disclosed that it has submitted “amended” proposals to the Shah Deniz gas... MORE

On January 18, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych appointed Valery Khoroshkovsky as the Finance Minister and relieved him of his duties as chief of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). Khoroshkovsky replaced Fedir Yaroshenko who resigned earlier that day. Unlike his predecessor, who is a post-Soviet media-shy... MORE