Turkey has joined the growing ranks of claimants to revision of their contracts with Gazprom. On September 29, Turkish Energy Minister, Taner Yildiz, warned that Turkey would end a 25-year-old supply agreement with Gazprom, unless the latter reduces the price of gas. Taner issued this... MORE

Much criticized for its inability to meet regional challenges, the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is seeking to boost its image in Central Asia. The organization’s latest military drills “Tsentr-2011” were focused on helping Central Asian states to meet newly emerging domestic challenges. For... MORE

Ukraine’s poor relations with Russia are nothing new as they also existed under the “pro-Russian” Leonid Kuchma. Nevertheless, Kuchma had to deal with the more democratic Russian President Boris Yeltsin, whereas the certainty of Vladimir Putin returning as Russian President in March 2012 means that... MORE

A number of insurgency-related incidents were reported in Dagestan and Ingushetia this past week. Dagestan’s Interior Ministry reported today (September 30) that an arms cache was discovered on the outskirts of the village of Toturbiikala in the republic’s Khasavyurt district yesterday (September 29), and that... MORE

For the last fifteen years, Belarus has been the world’s leader in terms of the sheer number of predictions of its imminent economic collapse. And yet since 1996, the country has demonstrated steady, impressive and, in the words of a 2005 World Bank report, “broad-based”... MORE

Russia keeps bewildering the public with extravagant economic plans for the North Caucasus that are supposed to pacify the region. According to Russian officials, it is unemployment that is causing the problems there (www.russiatoday.ru, 24, December 2010). To provide employment for the local population, ski... MORE

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin decided to terminate the pretense of being officially second in command in Russia and announced that he will replace President Dmitry Medvedev in the Kremlin. At a congress of the ruling United Russia party in Moscow, Medvedev also announced he will... MORE

To reduce its dependence on expensive Russian natural gas, Ukraine proposes to import Azerbaijani liquefied natural gas (LNG) via Georgia and across the Black Sea to Ukraine. Recent gas discoveries in Azerbaijan, and the reactivation of the Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan gas pipeline project, encourage a growing number... MORE

The Kremlin-orchestrated Tsentr-2011 military exercises of the Collective Security Organization Treaty (CSTO), hosted simultaneously by Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan and lasting almost one week, served for Astana not only as a litmus test of its combat capabilities. Most importantly, the exercises provided an opportunity... MORE

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych met with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin near Moscow on September 24 in a last-ditch attempt to persuade the ruling tandem to lower gas prices for Ukraine. The officials involved have avoided saying anything specific about... MORE