On October 19, the European Parliament began to discuss a joint motion for a resolution on the situation in the North Caucasus. The deputies expressed their concern about the unabated violence and human rights abuses by government forces in the region. The Europeans stressed the... MORE

Moscow has reiterated its pledges to develop the Russian natural gas sector and significantly increase domestic production and exports. However, it remains to be seen whether Russia will be able to deliver on its permanently increasing gas output plans against a background of growing domestic... MORE

On September 2, 2010, the Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, signed Order No.707, which approved the adoption of the Georgia’s Threat Assessment Document for 2010-2013. In accordance with Article 61 of Georgia’s General Administrative Code, the aforementioned document replaced the previous Threat Assessment Document for 2007-2009,... MORE

With the presidential elections in Russia scheduled for 2012, the media presence of President, Dmitry Medvedev, and Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, has increasingly appeared as an image contest, as if the election campaign had already started. Yet, with the elections’ outcome widely expected to be... MORE

The military dimension of Sino-Russian ties, particularly arms sales, has been deteriorating since 2006-07. While that decline partly reflects the growing prowess of China's defense industrial base, a major part stems from Russia's growing apprehension about China's growing capabilities and anger over its wholesale piracy... MORE

Insurgency-related violence continued across the North Caucasus this past week, most notably in an attack on the Chechen parliament, as observers continued to discuss the apparent split within the ranks of the North Caucasian rebels.A policeman and his brother were wounded late yesterday (October 21)... MORE

The Franco-German-Russian summit in Deauville and its timing (Medvedev Deflects Merkel-Sarkozy Proposal on Transnistria at Deauville Summit, EDM October 22) reflects the fragmentation of Euro-Atlantic and EU policy-making vis-à-vis Russia. This process was ongoing for some time and accelerated recently. The financial-economic crisis has stimulated... MORE

French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, met on October 18-19 in Deauville, France, with Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, ahead of summit events scheduled for the coming weeks: NATO, NATO-Russia, and European Union-Russia. The Deauville meeting seemed designed preemptively to influence the discussions... MORE

The leaders of four political parties –Ar-Namys, Ata-Jurt, Respublika, and Social-democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SPDK) – traveled to Moscow days after the October 10 parliamentary elections (www.24.kg, October 15). Reportedly, they met with Russian officials to discuss the possibility of forming a coalition. All four... MORE

The summer and fall of 2010 have not been pleasant for the leadership of the Chechen armed resistance movement. A split in the supreme leadership was for a period of time carefully hidden from the public eye by victorious communiqués voiced from other parts of... MORE