Today (September 30) marks the final day in the captive life of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Observer Mission (OSCE OM), which has operated on the Russian side of the Russia-Ukraine border, opposite Ukraine’s Donbas. Russia vetoed a prolongation of the Observer... MORE

On September 20, Tashkent hosted a conference on the topic “Russia and Uzbekistan facing the challenges of development and security at a new historical stage of interaction.” This gathering, jointly organized by Russia’s Valdai International Discussion Club and the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies... MORE

As a fairly small (population-wise) country squeezed between Russia and the European Union, Belarus is destined to be a geopolitical tuning fork, whose reactions and demeanor, if properly understood, provide valuable feedback to the policies of its more powerful neighbors. Thus, one can observe that... MORE

The joint Belarusian-Russian Zapad 2021 combined strategic exercise (sovmestnoe strategicheskoe uchenie), which lasted from September 10 to 16, witnessed numerous tests and experiments involving Russia’s Armed Forces—something that was entirely expected, since the annual strategic-operational military exercises naturally serve as the culmination of the combat training... MORE

Angered by Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s repressive moves and desirous of being on the right side of history, Western governments have imposed increasingly tough sanctions on Belarus (see EDM, May 18, June 30, August 10). But to a remarkable degree, they have restrained from taking even harsher... MORE

Dozens of individuals were detained after clashes in Yevpatoria, in Russian-annexed Ukrainian Crimea, on the night of September 22. Police fired shots into the air to stop the rioters and arrested 58 people as a result of the disturbances. Law enforcement reportedly found small arms... MORE

Two high-resonance processes have been simultaneously unfolding in Europe in the last few weeks: the sharp increase in the prices on natural gas (see EDM, August 11) as well as the fierce contestation in the parliamentary elections in Germany. Each one is driven by a... MORE

When the Taliban swept into Kabul on August 15, many assumed that this would lead to a shakeup of the geopolitical order in neighboring Central Asia, with the countries there either seeking protection from the Russian Federation or moving to cooperate more closely with each... MORE

On September 17–19, elections to Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) were unlawfully staged in the Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine’s east (Donetsk and Luhansk) as well as in annexed Crimea. Elections to the Russian Duma were also held unlawfully in Transnistria, Abkhazia and South... MORE

The general elections to the Russia State Duma (lower house of parliament) concluded on September 19, after three days of in-person and remote internet voting, with a total landslide victory for the Kremlin. Half of the Duma deputies are elected through proportionate party representation, and... MORE