Latvia’s recent parliamentary elections, and the complicated process of forming a coalition government, sparked the most intensive debate yet on “ethnic voting” in Latvia. In many ways the country is bi-communal de facto, owing to Soviet-era immigration from Russia and Russification of non-Russian groups in... MORE

On October 25 Latvia’s government approved the country’s new government, a three-party center-right coalition that does not include the leftist Russian party Harmony Center (BNS, LETA, October 25). This outcome was in doubt until almost the last moment. Western-oriented Latvia came close to being governed... MORE

On October 18, the Russian public chamber held a special hearing on the exodus of ethnic Russians from the North Caucasus. Poor economic conditions, personal insecurity and the regional political climate were cited most often as the main factors driving ethnic Russians out of the... MORE

Moscow claims to have resolved energy-related pricing disagreements with Beijing and has promised to increase bilateral trade. The official visit by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to China on October 10-11 was designed to give bilateral economic and energy ties yet another boost. For that... MORE

On October 19, members of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) announced in St. Petersburg that both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are eligible to join the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union (www.24.kg, October 19).Although the Customs Union positions itself as an economic alignment, it has long acquired political significance.... MORE

Visiting Tajikistan on October 22-23, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised US assistance for improving the country’s border management and anti-drug enforcement, in view of growing instability in neighboring Afghanistan. Such assistance, beyond its intrinsic value, could also remove the rationale behind Moscow’s twin proposals:... MORE

A recurring theme in the ongoing transformation of Russia’s Armed Forces has been planning and discussion on the future of junior command. Its prominence has fluctuated as the focus of attention centered on the dubious experiment to develop an elite professional non-commissioned officer (NCO) cadre... MORE

On October 18, the Supreme Court of Karachaevo-Cherkessia concluded a trial of a group of 29 suspected militants. The process became the most massive case of imprisonment of alleged North Caucasus rebels in recent times, but it received surprisingly little coverage in the Russian press.... MORE

On October 3, 2011, Vladimir Putin made headlines by putting forward the idea of a Eurasian Union including several post-Soviet states. This was his first foreign policy initiative since the announcement of his candidacy for a third mandate, made at the United Russia Congress at... MORE

The poignant comment by John McCain that dictators all over the world “may be a little bit more nervous” after the death of Muammar Gaddafi has generated sharp resonance in Russia because the outspoken US Senator named Vladimir Putin among the dictators in question (Moskovsky... MORE