On August 11, insurgents of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) based in Tajikistan forced their way into Kyrgyzstan's Batken Region, which borders on both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The rebels used the same route they did in August 1999, when they had attempted to reach... MORE

The sinking of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, which has dominated headlines in Moscow and around the world for the past two weeks, could prove to be a watershed event for Russia's ever more decrepit armed forces, if not for the country's political system as... MORE

The results of a recent poll suggest that President Vladimir Putin's rating has suffered something of a blow from his handling of the Kursk nuclear submarine disaster, but that he still has the support of a strong majority of the Russian public. The poll, carried... MORE

Just days after the tragic sinking of the submarine Kursk, Russia was once again hit by disaster. Yesterday the Ostankino television tower in northern Moscow--at more than 540 meters high the world's second-tallest man-made structure--was hit by a major fire. It broke out around 3... MORE

After growing rapidly during 1995-1998, Georgia's trade and current account deficits have fallen sharply over the past eighteen months. According to state statistical office data, the republic ran a US$144 million trade deficit in the first half of 2000, which is 25 percent below the... MORE

Thanks to booming oil exports, Azerbaijan reported 8.5 percent GDP growth in the first half of 2000. Surging world oil prices caused total exports to rise to rise nearly three-fold, while growing volumes of domestic and Kazakhstani oil exports boosted the transport sector. But there... MORE

Moscow won a legal and diplomatic victory yesterday in a bizarre court battle which had left Russian embassy personnel serving in France unable to pay their bills. The row had also further poisoned relations between Moscow and Paris, already strained due to continuing French criticism... MORE

While the perpetrators of and motives for the August 8 bombing of a pedestrian underpass in central Moscow have yet to be established, comments from top officials and other leading politicians suggest the incident may further strengthen the hand of Russia's special services. In the... MORE

A collateral effect of the Pushkin Square bombing is that it may have increased the likelihood Mikhail Kasyanov will be removed as prime minister and replaced by the Security Council's Sergei Ivanov. Rumors have been circulating for some time that such a move is in... MORE

Opinion surveys in Lithuania suggest that left-of-center opposition parties will triumph over the governing Conservatives in the parliamentary elections this coming October. The New Union/Social Liberals (NU/SL), led by social demagogue and consummate tactician Arturas Paulauskas, looks set to win a plurality of the vote... MORE