For the last two years, Moldova's political parties, parliament, presidency and law enforcement bodies engaged in a political war of all against all. It has destroyed the country's political system and helped lift the Communist Party on its ruins. Meanwhile, a Pax Russica reigned undisturbed... MORE

Many economies whose export sectors--like Kazakhstan's--are based on sales of energy and commodities are afflicted by what is known as Dutch disease. The large trade and current account surpluses which occur during periods of high energy prices can cause a country's exchange rate to appreciate... MORE

In contrast to Russia, Kazakhstan's market for securities--especially bonds--is developing nicely. Investors' willingness to buy bonds has helped the NBK prevent the inflows of foreign exchange produced by the country's oil exports from translating into inflationary growth in the domestic money supply. Total bond issues... MORE

Among the government personnel changes the Kremlin announced on March 28, Bush administration officials are said to be looking at one in particular: the ouster of Yevgeny Adamov as Russian atomic energy minister and his replacement by Aleksandr Rumyantsev, the former head of the Kurchatov... MORE

The battle between the ousted members of the NTV television team and the channel's new Gazprom-installed management team continued over the weekend, with the two sides and trading threats and accusations while thousands of Russians demonstrated in support of the embattled television channel. Alfred Kokh--the... MORE

The battle of words between NTV and Gazprom-Media has been joined by supporters of both sides. The weekend saw demonstrations in support of the embattled television channel in a number of cities. On April 7, an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 NTV supporters gathered in front... MORE

While the battle for NTV was escalating inside Russia, CNN founder Ted Turner, who last week announced that he had struck a deal with Gusinsky to buy shares in Media-Most, put out several statements related to the controversy. In one statement, released April 7, Turner... MORE

Armenia reported 6 percent GDP growth last year, despite a drought which caused agricultural production to decline. Industrial output grew 6 percent, thanks to 28-percent growth in exports. An important factor in last year's industrial growth was the restart of several formerly idle factories, mainly... MORE

The International Monetary Fund has announced that it will not be replacing its representative in Uzbekistan, Christoph Rosenberg, who returns to Washington on April 14 after three years in Tashkent. This effectively marks the end of meaningful IMF activities in Uzbekistan--and suggests that foreign investors'... MORE

Russia saw its lucrative arms trade with India come under scrutiny yesterday when a top Indian admiral suggested that Moscow's arms dealings with New Delhi were rife with improprieties. These revelations, made by Vice Admiral Arun Prakash, threaten to drag Russia into a burgeoning arms... MORE