Former President Robert Kocharian appears to have reopened potentially serious cracks in Armenia’s governing coalition by offering more indications of his desire to return to active politics. He has also signaled his dissatisfaction with the track record of President Serzh Sargsyan, his successor and longtime... MORE

Kyrgyzstan’s voters will choose their next president on October 30. Contrary to earlier expectations, the campaign period was rather orderly and uneventful. Both international and local observers have so far concluded that all competing candidates had equal access to the media and were able to... MORE

Unidentified gunmen yesterday (October 27) fired on a group of Interior Ministry servicemen and policemen in the village of Bairam-Aul in Dagestan’s Khasavyurt district. The incident took place as the servicemen were conducting a reconnaissance mission on the outskirts of the village. One of the... MORE

The European Commission has pronounced against the Croatian government’s changes to the law on ownership of INA, the Croatian oil and gas company. The changes would have reserved for the government alone the right to own 49 percent or more of INA’s shares. The government’s... MORE

Ukraine has made considerable progress in the free trade talks with the EU during the past several months. Kyiv and Brussels are planning to sign an association and free trade agreement in December 2011, as the free trade talks were completed in Brussels on October... MORE

On October 22, an officially permitted anti-Caucasian protest action – “Stop Feeding the Caucasus!” – was held in Moscow. Extensively advertised in both the government and liberal press, the rally turned out to be a very modest event, with fewer than 500 people participating. Protests... MORE

On November 4, Russia’s official National Unity Day holiday, Russian nationalists of differing creeds (about 40 grassroots nationalistic organizations in total) have been allowed by the authorities to stage their traditional annual Russian March (Russky Marsh). The organizers hope to attract some 20,000 to 25,000... MORE

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