Shortly after her recent visit to Washington, Kyrgyzstan’s President Roza Otunbayeva announced that two military training centers funded by the US and Russia will soon be opened in Kyrgyzstan (www.akipress.kg, March 15).According to the Kyrgyz president, the US center might be located in Batken oblast,... MORE

The expanded session of the Russian defense ministry collegium on March 18, given the crisis in reforming the armed forces, promised to be a crucial test for Defense Minister, Anatoliy Serdyukov, and there were numerous signals that a vintage performance might be on offer. Earlier... MORE

Co-chairing a session of the Russian-Hungarian Intergovernmental Economic Cooperation Commission in Moscow, Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov asked Hungary to eliminate “subjective” obstacles to Russian investments there (MTI, March 21). In the vocabulary of many Russian officials, “subjective” is Soviet-speak for unjustified or illegitimate, as... MORE

The Nabucco pipeline consortium is planning an expanded version of this project, within the framework of the EU-backed Southern Gas Corridor to Europe. The added elements include, as distinct possibilities: linking up with Turkmenistan through a trans-Caspian pipeline, to connect with Nabucco via Azerbaijan; inviting... MORE

On March 11, the government privatization agency State Property Fund (SPF) signed documents selling 92.8 percent of the fixed-line operator Ukrtelecom shares to ESU, the Ukrainian daughter of the Austrian company EPIC (European Privatization and Investment Corporation). This is the biggest privatization deal since 2005,... MORE

On March 3, a conference titled “The Circassian Question and the Olympics in Sochi” was held at the Moscow center of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Many of the participants expressed disappointment with the Kremlin’s reluctance to discuss the issue of the Circassian “genocide”... MORE

Though largely unnoticed by the media, China continues to expand its economic and therefore political and strategic position in Central Asia. This expansion even includes territorial revisions in China’s favor. In the energy sector Turkmenistan has agreed to sell China 20 billion cubic meters (bcm)... MORE

Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s, March 16-17 Russia visit capped a four-week period of spectacular changes to Russian energy transit projects, in the Black Sea and beyond. During these critical weeks, Russia abandoned the Trans-Balkan  (Burgas-Alexandropoulos) oil pipeline project, which it had planned for... MORE

On March 15, Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by a large delegation of businessmen and cabinet members, travelled to Moscow. Though on balance it produced mixed results, the visit constitutes yet another major step in the flourishing Turkish-Russian ties, characterized as a multi-dimensional... MORE

The body of an officer of the Dagestani branch of the Federal Penitentiary Service was found in the republic’s capital on March 17. The officer, whose was a captain, was killed with two shots to the head, and two shell casings were found along with... MORE