Two recent public opinion polls have highlighted quite revealing results about populations living in Belarus and Ukraine. First, according to the Ukrainian polling firm Rating, the opinions of Ukrainians about Belarus are overwhelmingly positive. In the separatist areas of Donbas (the eastern Ukrainian region encompassing... MORE

Since the conquest of the North Caucasus in the 19th century, Russian politicians have generally failed to understand the essence of Islam and repeatedly tried to create a pro-Russian Muslim clergy that would represent the Russian authorities among the country’s Muslim population instead of reflecting... MORE

One year ago, bloody battles raged throughout the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. The traditional autumn “rasputitsa” (mud season) usually ends by January: The dirt freezes, allowing trucks, troops and heavy military equipment to maneuver through fields and use unpaved roads. By mid-January 2015, the... MORE

Moscow is openly unhappy with the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, which came into effect starting on January 1, 2016. Consequently, Russia has slapped an embargo on Ukrainian food and complicated the transit of Ukrainian goods... MORE

Tbilisi and Moscow’s negotiations over the expansion of Russian Gazprom’s share of the Georgian energy market heightened the political fever in the country over the last several weeks. The negotiations that started largely in secrecy in September 2015 (see EDM, October 21, 2015), have continued... MORE

On January 12, the government of Abkhazia published a statement that paves the way for the breakaway Georgian region to join Russian sanctions against Turkey. The move further reduces Abkhazia’s political autonomy and pushes it into Moscow’s arms. Bilateral trade between Abkhazia and Turkey in... MORE

The deterioration of Turkey-Russia ties on the one hand and Iran–Saudi Arabia relations on the other have been a major source of worry for the Azerbaijani authorities over the past year. The leadership officially acknowledged this concern last week (January 10) (APA, January 10). However,... MORE

Moscow’s plans to push through a law establishing criminal penalties for those who deny that the 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire were a “genocide” have sparked unusual dissent among members of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Russian Federation. This, in turn, has raised speculation... MORE

Russia’s defense leadership has signaled that among its priorities for 2016 will be the creation of “three divisions” in the Western Military District (MD): a move sure to ignite further speculation concerning Moscow’s intentions toward its neighbors. This initiative has already prompted suggestions that it... MORE

A unique coalition is taking shape in Europe against German-Russian plans to double the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline. Italy has joined a group of countries, mostly from Central-Eastern Europe, in opposing the implementation of this energy project, which is spearheaded by Russia’s state-run gas... MORE