On November 23, Ales Belyatsky, a Belarusian human rights activist, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison after being convicted of failing to pay taxes of over 567,000 Euros ($764,000) transferred by unidentified individuals to his accounts in Lithuania and Poland. He... MORE

On December 6-7 in Vilnius, the OSCE’s year-end ministerial conference dramatized this organization’s vulnerability to sabotage by the Kremlin. That vulnerability is inherent in the OSCE’s own structure and modus operandi, which enable Russia to exercise discretionary veto powers under this organization’s consensus rules.Lithuania, holder... MORE

Corruption and corporate raiding are growing at an alarming rate in Ukraine since Viktor Yanukovych came to power. The country dropped 18 places this year in Transparency International’s annual rankings, now standing below Russia and Azerbaijan (both 143) and in 152nd place alongside Congo, the... MORE

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has detained a fire inspector for soliciting a $44,000 bribe from a company which was involved in the construction of a new stadium for the Euro-2012 soccer championship in Kyiv (www.ssu.gov.ua, November 24). Just two days later, State Employment Service... MORE

On December 1 and 2, respectively, Lithuania’s and Estonia’s ministries of foreign affairs (MFAs) refuted the Russian MFA’s latest claims that the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) had voluntarily joined the Soviet Union in 1940. Moscow’s claims in this regard are hardly new;... MORE

On November 8, Segodnya ran the headline: “Within the authorities there is a ‘silent coup’ taking place.” Segodnya was referring to the consolidation of “The Family” loyal to President Viktor Yanukovych. The capital assets of “The Family” are estimated to be $130 million, and 64th... MORE

As the EU-Ukraine summit scheduled for December 19 approaches, the chances for concluding an association agreement decrease. Although the two sides have completed their association and free trade talks (see EDM, November 2), Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s determination to keep in prison his bitter rival,... MORE

International negotiations on the Transnistria conflict are scheduled to re-start on November 30-December 1, for the first time in almost six years. The OSCE’s Lithuanian chairmanship helped facilitate the re-start and will host the event in Vilnius in the 5+2 format (Russia, Ukraine, OSCE, United... MORE

On October 20, the National Bank of Belarus decided to dispense with a system of different exchange rates by restoring a single rate and in the process devaluing the Belarusian ruble (BLR or Zaichik) from 4,930 to the dollar to 8,680 to the dollar, a... MORE

On November 2, President Viktor Yanukovych made a startling warning at an enlarged government meeting. He said “Law enforcement organs have told me there are purchases of weapons in preparation for a violent attack on the organs of the ruling bodies (of the state),” adding... MORE