August was the cruelest month for the Russian navy in recent years. Not since the loss of the SSNM Kursk had the news been so bad. Moscow and much of central Russia had suffered through a seemingly unending heat wave that had made life miserable... MORE

The Ukrainian government is stepping up its own efforts to discourage Gazprom’s South Stream project. Overestimating Russia’s capacity to implement it, Kyiv fears that Moscow would shift the gas transit to Europe into South Stream, bypassing Ukraine via the Black Sea, and devaluing Ukraine’s own... MORE

Turkmen President, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s, September 16 statement, explicitly linking the Turkmen East-West gas pipeline with the European Union-backed Nabucco project (EDM, September 17), is not only a boost for Nabucco, but also a blow to Gazprom’s rival project South Stream. As Moscow analysts recognize, Berdimuhamedov’s... MORE

Since the reform of the Russian conventional armed forces began in late 2008, Moscow has proved cautious, even reluctant, to enter defense assistance agreements with NATO member states that would support its modernization drive. To date, the underlying message has been clear: this is a... MORE

Beleaguered Moscow Mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, has departed on a week-long vacation in Austria to celebrate his 74th birthday with his family, but the political confrontation around his hold on office continues unabated (EDM, September 15). Over the weekend, the federal TV channels delivered new “black... MORE

On September 15, an Ingush insurgent leader claimed responsibility for planning the September 9 suicide bombing at the central market in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia. According to the leader of Ingush sector, named Adam, the attack was carried out by the Riyadus Salikhin battalion. Calling the... MORE

In the Turkish referendum held on September 12, voters supported the constitutional amendment package promoted by the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP). Despite earlier forecasts and opinion polls, the changes were approved by a wide margin: 58 percent voted in favor, while 42 percent... MORE

On September 3 at 5.30 p.m., a relative found the body of Aleh Byabenin at his dacha in Pyarhurava, not far from Minsk. He had ostensibly committed suicide by hanging himself. Police from the Dzyarzhinsk district reportedly found two empty bottles of balsam in the... MORE

Tajikistan faces a deteriorating security situation following the escape of 25 high-profile prisoners from a detention center in Dushanbe run by the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) on August 23. The convicts escaped less than one week after they had been sentenced to lengthy... MORE

Russian authorities have voiced their support for the country’s state-run energy giants in their possible bids to take over BP’s holdings in Russia. The maneuverings came as yet another sign of the government’s drive towards strengthening the state’s grip on domestic energy assets. Earlier this... MORE