By Taras Kuzio The internet is the only area of the Ukrainian media that still remains largely uncontrolled by the authorities. The internet still has a "clear image of being FREE from censorship, and even at times from self-censorship," according to a February 6, 2002... MORE

By Martin C. Spechler No country of comparable size and strategic interest to the United States suffers more from misunderstanding than the Republic of Uzbekistan. This Muslim country of 25 million sits among fragile and poor neighbors afflicted with Islamist extremism and drug trafficking, and... MORE

By Nikolai Petrov December's elections to the Russian State Duma will be the first to be held under conditions of political stabilization, with ongoing federal reform, a considerably stronger center and a reinforced team supporting Vladimir Putin. They will seriously test the model of "managed... MORE

By Aleksandr Verkhovsky The Soviet state pursued a policy of aggressive secularization. Thankfully, that has now ended. But it has proved difficult for the new state to understand and accept the role of religion in a democratic society. Religious organizations themselves have compounded the problem,... MORE

By Pavlo Kutuev Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has shown Machiavellian cunning in using administrative reform as a tool to confound his opponents while keeping his loyalists on their toes. This is vividly illustrated by the installation, and then the abrupt removal, of the posts of... MORE

By David R. Marples and Uladzimir Padhol Russian Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin met Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Minsk on June 7 and announced that agreement had been reached--in principle--on the introduction of the Russian ruble as the single currency in both countries by January... MORE

By Vladimir Pribylovsky Last week saw a scandal erupt in Moscow over an "anti-oligarch" report issued by the Council for National Strategy. The Council for National Strategy (CNS) is an independent think-tank established last year, comprised of twenty-three experts from across the political spectrum. [1]... MORE

By Elena Chinyaeva Pundits have long argued that the age of summits is over, that in the post-Cold War world there is no need for the leaders of the competing superpowers to meet eyeball to eyeball and test each other's wills. That may be true.... MORE

By Oleg Varfolomeyev The October 2004 election will end the controversial ten year rule of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. The veteran leader of this nation of 48 million people is constitutionally required to step down at the end of his second term in office. As... MORE

by Najia Badykova The legal status of the Caspian Sea remains unresolved despite lengthy and convoluted attempts to address the issue. But now Moscow, fishing in troubled waters, is playing an increasingly prominent role in the region. Russia is exploiting disagreements in the region in... MORE