Russian officials have reiterated pledges to pursue pro-active Far Eastern energy policies, backed by sizable investments. Moscow would invest up to $100 billion to develop new natural gas deposits in the next five years, Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Sechin, announced (Interfax, RIA Novosti, June 18).... MORE

On July 2, the newspaper Vedomosti unveiled Aleksandr Khloponin’s long-promised ambitious plan to develop the North Caucasus Federal District. The three possible scenarios in the North Caucasus are described as inertial, basic and optimal, with the last being favored the most. The optimal scenario is... MORE

The biennial Vostok (East) 2010 operational-strategic exercise in the Siberian and Far East Russian military districts (MD’s), June 28 to July 8, was hailed by the top brass as the largest of its kind since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Defense ministry sources indicated... MORE

President, Dmitry Medvedev, can consider his visit to the US successful, but it was still not good enough to put relations on a sure footing. He enjoyed new gadgets in Silicon Valley and hamburgers with US President, Barack Obama, he tried to make the best... MORE

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, paid a six-hour visit to Georgia on July 5, as part of a tour of five countries in five days. Her Georgia visit was the first by a top US official since Vice-President, Joseph Biden, visited exactly one year... MORE

International demand for Azeri gas (EDM, July 1) is also rising outside the European Union. It is mostly driven by the anticipation of post-crisis industrial recovery and by considerations of supply security through diversification.Russia’s Gazprom is preparing in its own way for Europe’s post-crisis recovery.... MORE

Kyrgyzstan’s June 27 referendum on the new constitution defied most skeptics’ expectations –it occurred amid relative calm across Kyrgyzstan and a large number of the ethnic Uzbek minority managed to cast their votes, despite the recent violence in southern parts of the country. Significantly, amongst... MORE

Insurgency-related violence took place throughout the North Caucasus this past week, with incidents reported in Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Chechnya. A freight train was the target of a bombing in Dagestan today (July 2). The incident took place on the Manas-Achi railway line around 5:25... MORE

An international court has obliged Naftohaz Ukrainy, the state-controlled oil and gas behemoth, to pass 12 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas and $192 million to RosUkrEnergo (RUE), a joint venture of Gazprom and the Ukrainian businessman, Dmytro Firtash. This is a heavy defeat for... MORE

The US and Russian presidents’ nibbling at hamburgers has had little, if any, effect on the situation in the North Caucasus. Even the US State Department’s decision to designate Doku Umarov as a would-be threat to American interests (www.rus.ruvr.ru, June 24) might be seen as... MORE