As the Kyrgyz parliamentary campaign officially began on September 10, concerns mounted that major political parties will choose to use forceful methods to prevail over their competitors. Tensions are rising especially among parties that aspire to a majority in parliament and those that might fail... MORE

On September 11, a police armored truck and a gas pipeline were blown up in the Elbrus district, located in the mountainous part of Kabardino-Balkaria. The attack left five servicemen injured and several settlements without gas supplies (ITAR-TASS, September 11). The strength of the blast... MORE

During a meeting on September 13-14 in Baku, Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, and Traian Basescu of Romania, as well as Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, announced the launching of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. Designated as the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania... MORE

As Moscow’s mayor since 1992, one of founders of the ruling United Russia party and one of its collective co-leaders, Yuri Luzhkov, 73, has become the target of furious public attacks by the state-controlled Russian TV channels. In a broadside that began last week on... MORE

Although the second anniversary of the Russia-Georgia War was marked by little sense of euphoria in Moscow, the operational lessons drawn by the Russian military resulted in the current reform of the armed forces being closely associated with the Five Day War (EDM, August 9).... MORE

On September 7 in Brussels, three leading international financial institutions launched the process of funding the Nabucco gas pipeline project, potentially to a multi-billion Euro level. The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the World Bank’s International Finance... MORE

Russia seems to have lost its lobbying battle for South Stream and against Nabucco in Europe (EDM, July 13, 14, August 3). At present, Moscow seeks as a last resort to negate the availability of gas supplies to the Nabucco project in the Caspian basin.... MORE

The Party of Regions, according to an extensive analysis in Ukrayinska Pravda (August 30), is seeking to obtain a majority in local councils in the October local elections. If the Party of Regions secures a majority in the area between the Don (the Russian-Ukrainian border)... MORE

On September 9, a suicide bomber attacked the central market place in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia. Seventeen people died and 173 received injuries of varying degrees of severity as a result of the attack (RIA Novosti, September 12). The suspected suicide bomber reportedly crossed from the... MORE

Two high-profile international events occurred in Russia last week: on Monday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, held a traditional meeting with the Valdai club; and on Friday, President Dmitry Medvedev participated in the Yaroslavl forum, which is designed to become a new tradition. Some Western participants... MORE