A grumbling but loyal ally, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus is quietly collecting his rewards from the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin seems clearly more willing than his predecessor Boris Yeltsin to reward Lukashenka. Some of Putin's favors may even be stretching the ability of... MORE

With growing insistence, the Russian government and Gazprom demand control over Ukraine's gas transit system carrying Russian gas to Europe. That system represents Ukraine's largest economic asset by far and just about the only Ukrainian counterleverage to Russian political pressures. Moscow now wants a 51-percent... MORE

Ahead of a planned summit in Kyiv which is expected to institutionalize GUUAM, its five member countries--Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova--are taking collective steps to assert their association's presence on the international level. The government of Azerbaijan seems to be playing a coordinating role... MORE

President Vladimir Putin likes the term "dictatorship of the law," and asks people to accept the formulation as something benign--nothing more than the strict application of one set of rules for all Russians. In practice, however, Putin's "dictatorship of the law" has meant using law... MORE

The picture on the economic front was far less gloomy. Deputy Prime Minister Kudrin reported that Russia's economy had grown by 7.5 percent in the first half of this year and predicted it would expand 6.5 percent to 7 percent in the second half, with... MORE

After a lengthy period in which the attention of the Kremlin and of Russian diplomats was directed in large part away from the West, President Vladimir Putin put the focus back on Europe over the past fortnight as he completed a successful four-day visit to... MORE

The past fortnight was also noteworthy for a brief visit to Moscow which Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica paid on October 27. For the Kremlin the visit was important because it offered a chance to undo some of the damage caused by Putin's misplay of the... MORE

"The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomeos, canonical leader of some of the world's Orthodox churches, was in Estonia from October 27 to November 1 to visit the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. Denunciations by the Moscow Patriarchate turned that ecclesiastical visit into a political event with... MORE

The fourth round of Russian-Georgian military negotiations provided fresh evidence of Moscow's attempts to retain bases in Georgia. While scrapping and/or withdrawing the hardware which exceeds Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty ceilings, the Russians seek to maintain control, in one form or another, of... MORE

On October 30, the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan opened public proceedings in the criminal trial against twelve opposition leaders and militants. Three defendants are in the dock while the other nine are being tried in absentia. The nine being tried in absentia include Tahir Yuldash,... MORE