Belarus reported at the end of October that after a second round of elections boycotted by opposition forces, its new parliament would be ready to start work in one month's time (Reuters, October 30). The boycott was a partial success, given that another round of... MORE

The presidential election just held in Kyrgyzstan is being assessed severely by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United States government. The incumbent President Askar Akaev won reelection to a third term of office with 74 percent of the votes... MORE

After nearly a year in which he studiously avoided visiting France, Russian President Vladimir Putin this week wound up a triumphant visit to Paris which enabled him to boost ties with European leaders and repair previously strained relations with the French government. The visit included... MORE

Boris Berezovsky reacted yesterday to a summons from Prosecutor General's Office that he appear for questioning on November 13 as a suspect in the Aeroflot case, involving the alleged embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars from Russia's state airline. Berezovsky called the summons "political... MORE

The Washington-based Heritage Foundation has released its index of economic freedom for the year 2001. Russia came in 127th out of the 155 countries ranked--less free than Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan and Romania, tied with the Republic of Congo and Mauritania, and more free than Kazakhstan,... MORE

On November 5 Azerbaijan will hold the third multiparty legislative election in its history. At stake are 100 seats in single-mandate districts and twenty-five seats to be distributed among party slates countrywide according to the proportional system. The governing Yeni [New] Azerbaijan Party (YAP) looks... MORE

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office yesterday turned up the heat on the country's two main media moguls, Vladimir Gusinsky and Boris Berezovsky, announcing that each had been summoned for questioning in separate corruption cases and could face arrest. Deputy Prosecutor General Vasily Kolmogorov told reporters... MORE

Deputy Prosecutor General Vasily Kolmogorov announced yesterday that all suspects in the Aeroflot case, which involves allegations that two Swiss firms tied to Boris Berezovsky embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars from the Russian state airline, will be questioned on November 13. Kolmogorov said that... MORE

Aleksandr Litvinenko, a former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer, has asked for political asylum in Great Britain. Litvinenko reportedly made the request yesterday after arriving in London with his wife and infant child. Litvinenko gained notoriety back in 1998, when he and several other FSB... 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 for a visitation of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. Denunciations by the Moscow Patriarchate turned that ecclesiastical visit into a political event with... MORE