On January 6, the Republic of Altai ushered in the New Year with the first regional election of the year. Mikhail Lapshin, leader of the Agrarian Party of Russia (APR), which is closely allied with the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF), won a... MORE

The most successful among the post-Soviet reformer governments, Estonia, is calling it quits after a falling out among the three parties of the ruling coalition. Prime Minister Mart Laar is tendering his resignation today, as was announced on Christmas Eve by Laar's Pro Patria Union... MORE

Lithuania's Liberal Union (LU), a major political party representing business interests, has split. Eleven of the party's parliamentary deputies officially abandoned the LU on January 4 with a view to forming a new organization. The LU has now been reduced from thirty-four to twenty-three in... MORE

A scandal has erupted in Ukraine over allegations about the involvement of top officials in illegal arms exports several years ago. On December 21, the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) requested the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) and the Security Service (SBU) to check reports alleging the involvement... MORE

Ukraine's parliamentary electoral race got underway officially on December 31, and the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU) seems to be the first out of the starting gate. It has come up with a list of candidates to compete with lists of other parties in a... MORE

TV-6, Russia's last remaining major private national television channel, is once again facing the threat of liquidation. On January 4, Eduard Renov, a deputy chairman of Moscow's Higher Arbitration Court, notified the channel's management that he was protesting the December 29 decision by the Federal... MORE

On January 3, Azerbaijan's military court for grave crimes passed sentences in the trial of twelve young Azerbaijani citizens, whom it had found guilty on terrorism-related charges in late December. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to five years for attempting to... MORE

On December 29, Azerbaijani President Haidar Aliev signed an amnesty decree covering eighty-seven convicted detainees, including some classified by various internal groups and international organizations as "political prisoners." Other "political prisoners" are not included in the amnesty decree, however. Disagreement has long raged as to... MORE

As Russia's armed forces move into the new year, it is clear that they continue to face several old problems. One of the most serious of these, and the one that is perhaps of most direct concern to military personnel themselves, involves the government's plan... MORE

Russia's Foreign Ministry announced yesterday that Russian and Cuban officials had gathered in a solemn ceremony on December 28 to mark the closing of Moscow's largest overseas intelligence installation--the electronic listening center at Lourdes in Cuba. The ceremony follows President Vladimir Putin's surprise announcement in... MORE