On May 16, members of the Russian State’s Duma committee on foreign affairs met with a group of Circassian activists from the North Caucasus and the overseas diasporas. The short, one-hour meeting, which was the highest level Russian government meeting with Circassian activists to date,... MORE

The United States kick-started the Libya operation on March 19, in charge of Operation Odyssey Dawn, and launching air and missile strikes until April 3. The French, British, and several other governments (some of them with caveats) joined the operation from the outset. Washington, however,... MORE

Following in US footsteps, NATO has stumbled into its own war of choice in Libya. The rationale in this case is an assumed “responsibility to protect” populations, apparently anywhere, from mass-scale atrocities or war crimes, be they perpetrated by governments or resulting from civil conflicts.... MORE

On May 5, the National Bank of Belarus, responding to pressure to devalue the Belarusian ruble, stipulated that by May 12, the exchange course with hard currency (the US dollar, the Euro and the Russian ruble) could increase from its current 8 percent depreciation rate... MORE

On May 4, the official Russian defense ministry publication, Krasnaya Zvezda, reported that in late April the first meeting of a new military science council was held in Moscow. Yevgeniy Podzor outlined the first session of the newly formed Council on Scientific and Technical Policy... MORE

Although Nursultan Nazarbayev, during his election campaign vowed to stay at the helm as long as his health permits, in the corridors of power the undercurrent wrangling for the crown of the 70 year old ruler seems to be already underway. Nazarbayev, who has no... MORE

On May 9, the leader of the North Caucasian rebels, Doku Umarov, appointed Ibragimkhalil Daudov (aka Emir Salikh) as the new head of the Dagestani insurgency -- or the “Dagestani front,” in Umarov’s words. Daudov replaces Israpil Velidzhanov (aka Emir Khasan), who was killed in... MORE

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has given the torpid election campaign in Russia an all too familiar direction with the suggestion, or rather the order, to build the Russian Popular Front that would mobilize “everyone who is united in their common desire to strengthen our country,... MORE

Armenia’s domestic political landscape looks set to undergo a significant rearrangement that could have profound implications for the next national elections due in 2012 and 2013. President Serzh Sargsyan has all but warded off another challenge to his rule from the country’s largest opposition force... MORE

Kazakhstan is increasingly uncomfortable within the Customs Union with Belarus and Russia due to the constant attempts by the Kremlin to politicize the structure originally intended to boost trade relations and ensure free movement of citizens, goods and capital within the union. Recently, Grigoriy Onishenko... MORE