The military prosecutor of the North Caucasus Military District has completed the investigation of Yury Budanov, commander of the 160th tank regiment. Budanov was charged in March of last year with premeditated murder, kidnapping and exceeding his authority in carrying out acts of violence. Along... MORE

Kenneth Gluck, the American aid worker who was recently released from captivity in Chechnya, has essentially denied the Federal Security Service (FSB) assertion that he was freed as the result of a special operation. Gluck, who works for the international aid agency Doctors Without Borders,... MORE

On February 7 in Moscow, Romania's Foreign Affairs Minister Mircea Geoana--the new chairman-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)--discussed the differences which increasingly set Russia apart from an overwhelming majority of OSCE member countries. Those differences center on Moscow's conduct both... MORE

In contrast to the leading transition economies of Central Europe--where annual inflation rates have generally been around 10 percent--the Baltic states have for years been able to keep inflation rates at or below levels reported in European Union countries. Low inflation rates have helped Baltic... MORE

Two weeks ago Tajik President Imomali Rahmonov admitted, for the first time, that Tajikistan has become the main channel for the Asian narcotics traffic to Russia and Europe. He issued a rhetorical appeal to battle the drug business and a warning to the accomplices of... MORE

The intimidation campaign launched by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), aimed at chilling contacts between Russian and Western defense specialists, is set to continue later this month when the trial of thirty-five-year-old Igor Sutyagin resumes in a Kaluga courthouse. Sutyagin, a defense analyst at the... MORE

Boris Berezovsky, the once mighty oligarch now in self-imposed exile, said yesterday that he would begin negotiations with Credit Suisse First Boston to purchase the US$262 million debt due in July which Vladimir Gusinsky's embattled Media-Most group owes the investment bank. That credit was guaranteed... MORE

Some observers have dismissed Boris Berezovsky's promise to buy out Media-Most's US$262 million debt as little more than a PR gesture and questioned whether the tycoon has sufficient funds to buy out Media-Most's debt and offer it a US$50 million loan. Berezovsky recently sold off... MORE

Gazprom stepped up its own public diplomacy in the war over Media-Most and NTV, publishing a full-page open letter signed by its CEO, Rem Vyakhirev, who accused Media-Most founder Vladimir Gusinsky of driving the holding into bankruptcy and calling on Media-Most shareholders to either sell... MORE

While the quality and quantity of the official economic statistics released by CIS countries often leave much to be desired, Turkmenistan is widely viewed the region's worst offender. Because Turkmenistan--like Uzbekistan and Belarus--does not have a working relationship with the International Monetary Fund, the economic... MORE