Ukraine’s united opposition, Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchina (Fatherland) party and Arseniy Yatseniuk’s Front Zmin (Front for Change), held a congress on May 12 on the symbolic St. Sophia’s Cathedral Square in Kyiv. The congress released a detailed program for the upcoming October parliamentary elections.Boxing champion Vitaliy... MORE

On May 24, an estimated 600 protesters gathered in Makhachkala to demand an investigation into the March 18 murder of four brothers, including Kizlyar city council member Magomed Gamzatov, and their nephew, who were killed after they had a dispute with Kizlyar district head Andrei... MORE

Last Friday, the administration of President Vladimir Putin and the government of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had a get-together at a cozy palace outside Moscow, but the mood was rather melancholic. The old-timers, who were in the majority, knew each other too well and were... MORE

NATO’s summit on May 20 in Chicago has brought Georgia slightly closer to the “open door” of membership in the Alliance. The Chicago summit’s declaration reaffirms earlier decisions, committing NATO to positive consideration of Georgia’s membership aspirations. The Chicago document reads: “At the 2008 Bucharest... MORE

During his four-year rule, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan has had little contact with Vladimir Putin, and the Armenian head of state’s most recent trip to Moscow only reinforced a growing sense in Yerevan that he is distrusted and possibly disliked by Russia’s most powerful man.... MORE

It appears the Caucasus Emirate’s representatives finally realized that it is no longer enough to talk about “worldwide jihad” and position the war in the Caucasus as part of it. Caucasus Emirate websites normally provide information about jihadist achievements around the world – in countries... MORE

Two days after the protest rally in Moscow on May 6 ended in violence, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told one of the opposition leaders: “The demonstrators’ livers ought to be smeared on the asphalt for every wounded OMON riot policeman” (https://ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com/482999.html). In Moscow,... MORE

Despite the constant upbeat reports from Russian ministries and agencies concerning the “neutralization” of 316 militants in the North Caucasus since the start of 2012, the number of militants in the region for some reason does not appear to be decreasing. “Neutralization,” as a rule,... MORE

The relatively lengthy process of forming a ruling cabinet and administration after Vladimir Putin’s inauguration on May 7, and the endorsement of Dmitry Medvedev as Prime Minister on May 8, ended with the creation of a seemingly cumbersome two-tier government. Medvedev’s government (as promised) is... MORE

A two-day NATO Summit in Chicago was concluded on May 21. Turkey considered the summit as an opportunity to pursue three major issues: highlight the crisis in Syria, negotiate with the US to buy high-tech American-made Predators drones, and test the waters for President Abdullah... MORE