As the triangular three-way new "Great Game" among Russia, the United States, and now China continues throughout Eurasia, an interesting byproduct is the bilateral relations developing between potential “client” states that all three are assiduously courting at a burgeoning number of international forums. The latest... MORE

While Western companies, particularly energy ones, have taken a pummeling recently in the former Soviet space, one country remains a possible el Dorado for foreign investment. Mining companies eyeing Mongolia as one of the world's last largely untapped frontiers have watched for years as the... MORE

On June 29 Mongolia held its fifth round of parliamentary elections for the Ulsyn Ikh Khural (State Great Hural, or Parliament) since the country abandoned Communism in 1990 and held its first multiparty elections. Opposition parties cried foul; two days later the country’s capital erupted... MORE

Since Mongolia abandoned Communism in 1990, it has sought to maintain its independence, sandwiched as it is between the two giant neighbors, Russia and China, by discreetly reaching out to the west and the United States in particular. While Mongolia has observer status in the... MORE

Suspicions of a fraudulent election, combined with rampant inflation, low living standards and perceptions of widespread corruption have combined to create a perfect storm of protest in Mongolia’s capital Ulan Bator, where in the evening of July 1 a crowd estimated at 8,000 to 10,000... MORE

In the new “Great Game,” the U.S. and more lately China, jostle with a resurgent Russia for control of Central Asia’s vast energy and mineral resources. In no country is the triangular tussle more sharply defined than Mongolia. Dmitry Medvedev was inaugurated as President or... MORE

Moscow has renewed efforts to prop up economic ties with its closest Cold War era ally, Mongolia. The two neighboring nations appear, however, to remain divided by a variety of irritants. At a meeting in Moscow with Mongolian Prime Minister Sanjaa Bayar earlier in April,... MORE

While the Mongolian People’s Republic shed its socialist Communist political straitjacket in 1990, the Mongolian “ulus” (nation) has remained divided by geography as a part of the new “Great Game,” with independent Mongolia remaining heavily under Russian influence, while the Peoples Republic of China retains... MORE

Since 1991 Kazakhstan has become one of the world’s rising petro-states. If current development plans are implemented, Kazakhstan’s current 1.3 million barrels per day (BPD) output will rise to 2.7 million by 2020. While the most of Kazakhstan’s output is currently shipped to the world... MORE