By Oleg Varfolomeyev Ukraine was instrumental in breaking up the Soviet Union back in 1991, when its parliament proclaimed independence immediately after the abortive August coup in Moscow. Although it was a founding member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, its leadership has never regarded... MORE

By Emil Danielyan Ever since independence, Armenia has been one of the few former Soviet republics whose ruling elites did not emerge from the Communist nomenklatura. For more than seven years, the country was ruled by an anti-Communist political force which advocated liberal ideas and... MORE

The Transport Corridor of Europe-Caucasus-Asia [TRACECA] -- a European Union-sponsored project involving Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, which is also known as the "New Silk Road," was launched in Brussels in 1993. By 1996, Ukraine and Mongolia had also signed on... MORE

By "Sadji" On March 25, 1998, there was a joint session of the two houses of Kyrgyzstan's Zhogorku Kenesh, or parliament -- the Assembly of People's Representatives and the Legislative Assembly. Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev spoke to the joint session, informing those present of a... MORE

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: THE WAY OUT OF UKRAINE'S ECONOMIC IMPASSE By Volodymyr Zviglyanich Ukraine's economy remains in a crisis. Industrial production fell by more than 14 percent in January 1998, which brought about a 0.8 percent decline in GDP for January. (1) The virtual stoppage in production... MORE

By Anna Matveeva A year ago, Thomas Friedman published an article on NATO expansion in the International Herald Tribune, entitled "Ten Reasons Why Chile Should Be Part of NATO." (1) Among the reasons suggested were that Chile is a very long country; that it is... MORE

Russia's financial crisis deepened despite the government's increasingly desperate efforts to find a way out. Prime Minister Sergei Kirienko on July 1 presented the Duma with twenty-one legislative proposals constituting an "anti-crisis" program of austerity measures. The Duma gave its preliminary approval to twelve of... MORE

By Zaal Anjaparidze 1. BACKGROUND In 1987-88, it became apparent that the USSR was in a profound economic and political crisis. Ethnic and ethno-territorial conflicts resulted in mass migration, which in turn, magnified the socio-economic crisis, first in the USSR, and then, after its dissolution... MORE

By Emil Danielyan The mood was euphoric among Armenia's intellectual elite following Robert Kocharian's rise to power last February. Endorsements during the presidential campaign made it clear whom they supported for the presidency. Armenian politicians could only dream of getting the kind of backing the... MORE

By Aleksandr Buzgalin and Andrei Kolganov One cannot say of General Aleksandr Lebed that "if he hadn't existed, one would have had to invent him." There are more than enough claimants to the place which Lebed occupies in Russian political life already. If there were... MORE