On March 16, 2012, the Moldovan parliament elected Nicolae Timofti as state president, a post technically vacant since April 2009. Proposed by the governing Alliance for European Integration (AEI, comprised of three parties), Timofti garnered 62 votes, one more than minimally necessary in the 101-seat... MORE

In theory, and even by certain practical criteria, Moldova should qualify as Exhibit One for successful democracy promotion in non-western societies. All elections held in Moldova from 1991 to date were internationally certified as free and fair (“democratic process”). Indeed, the opposition defeated the incumbents... MORE

There has been much speculation as to the next stage of the rift between Belarus and the European Union. In late February, the ambassadors of the 27 EU nations left Minsk in response to Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s request that the ambassador of Poland and... MORE

Moldova’s parliament is scheduled to elect a head of state on March 16 – the eighth presidential election attempt since 2009. The state presidency has been technically vacant for almost three years. Since April 2009, Moldova has held three parliamentary elections, seven presidential election attempts... MORE

President Viktor Yanukovych on March 7 pompously instructed the Ukrainian government to launch social reforms. The plan boils down to bribing the poorest strata with handouts at a time when the coffers are nearly empty and international creditors want to see less government spending. The... MORE

Yevgeny Shevchuk’s election as “president” of Transnistria in December 2011 ended the 20-year rule of Igor Smirnov, belatedly replacing a Soviet with a post-Soviet leadership group. Shevchuk defeated the Kremlin-picked candidate (the Supreme Soviet’s fossilized chairman Anatoly Kaminski). Moscow campaigned to remove Smirnov as a... MORE

One of the weaknesses of Belarus’s geopolitical situation and indeed of its self-perception is that Belarus is a crossroads, a land in between. In many ways this cliché informs thinking about Belarus – while something of note is occurring within its borders, there is a... MORE

Six years to the day since their collapse (February 28, 2006), official negotiations on the Transnistria conflict were supposed to restart in Dublin in the 5+2 format (Russia, Ukraine, OSCE, United States, European Union, Chisinau, Tiraspol). The Dublin meeting on February 28-29, 2012 was to... MORE

On February 24 on three Ukrainian television channels, President Viktor Yanukovych said, “There is a law and it should be observed, I believe. And a fight within the law is a fair fight. And whoever breaks these rules should be punished for it… This is... MORE

Russian oil companies Gunvor, Rosneft, and Lukoil are spearheading what looks like an acquisition spree of refining capacities in Western Europe. Some West-European authorities accept without qualms and even welcome such Russian takeovers, apparently viewing them as crisis-relief measures for stricken European refineries and workforces... MORE