On July 22, the Memorial human rights center published a report on the most recent trends and developments in the North Caucasus. The report summarizes events spanning March-May 2011, and covers primarily Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria.  The report notes there was an increase of 6,000... MORE

Moscow is piling the heat on Minsk and Kyiv to subordinate their economies, notably their energy sectors, to Russia and with that accept Russia’s political tutelage. In both cases, Moscow is using the instruments of its gas and its customs union (EurAsEc). EurAsEc has lent... MORE

On July 29, Turkey was shaken by yet another development concerning a possible political crisis between the civilian authorities and the country’s upper military echelon. The Chief of the General Staff Isik Kosaner quit his post, followed by three of the four force commanders, Land... MORE

Russian military manning, saddled with conscripts serving for twelve months and reduced numbers of contract personnel, continues to be subject to experiments. The latest, relates to a brigade in the North Caucasus, which will witness the preparation of “combat-ready” conscripts in a new training program... MORE

Barely a week after US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, had asked Turkey’s leaders in Ankara to open the Turkish-Armenian border, Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan has thwarted that effort by issuing an irredentist-sounding statement to youth (“Armenian President Casts Doubt On Ongoing Negotiating Processes,” EDM,... MORE

Armenian President, Serzh Sarksyan, has hinted at historic territorial claims against Turkey, and implied that he regarded the seizure of Azerbaijani territory as final. Addressing an audience of students from Armenia and the diaspora on July 23, Sarksyan was asked whether the country could regain... MORE

July 1 marked the launch of the now “fully operational” Customs Union (Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia) fueling debate on the future of the post-Soviet space and even the grouping itself. Indeed, ruptures have already revealed themselves among existing members (such as the recent “tariff wars”... MORE

On July 24, Russian government forces killed three suspected militants in the city of Dagestanskie Ogni in southern Dagestan. The security services accused the slain suspects of plotting terror attacks in central Russia, pointing to an arsenal of weapons and two suicide bomber belts that... MORE

As it happens all too often in Russian rumor-ridden politics, news that is taken seriously comes from abroad, and the Reuters analysis on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s newly-crystallized intention to return to the Kremlin made a stronger impression than most half-informed speculations (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, July... MORE

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a one-day working visit to Baku, where he met the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to discuss various bilateral and regional issues. Erdogan deliberately chose Baku as the destination for his second official trip abroad, since he formed his... MORE