Implications related to the signing of the Russo-Abkhazian Agreement on Alliance and Strategic Partnership, on November 24, have been reverberating across the region, and have had profound effects on Armenia. For one thing, the agreement again stimulated a discussion about the possible restoration of the... MORE

The attack by militants in Grozny on December 4 was surprisingly large in scale. The last time Chechen militants launched such a large-scale offensive in Grozny was in October 2010, when three rebels attempted to seize the republican parliament building (NTV.ru, October 19, 2010). Although... MORE

On December 5, Georgia’s national currency, the lari, fell by another 2.86 percentage points against the US dollar, hitting its lowest point since spring 2004. Overall, from early November 2014, the lari depreciated by 11.2 percent, quickly sending the prices of everyday products and commodities... MORE

On November 26, a counter-terrorist operation regime was lifted in Untsukul district, located in the mountains of Dagestan. Introduced back in March, the regime was lifted, but the Gimry tunnel remains closed for through traffic. The Gimry tunnel connects the mountainous districts of the republic... MORE

On November 29, a television station styling itself “the National Television of Talyshton” (“Tolyshystoni Millaiiya Vindasado”—TMV) began broadcasting in Azerbaijan under the direction of Talysh poet Zabig Madozh. One year ago, Madozh launched a YouTube video service in the Talysh language, and he insists that... MORE

The “Putinian Pax Energetica”—Russia’s strategic use of energy exports and pipeline politics to influence countries in its neighborhood—is faltering, and Italy now appears to be taking countermeasures to deal with it. On December 1, during a state visit to Turkey, Russian President Vladimir Putin finally... MORE

On November 26, the city court in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, sentenced a man accused of fighting in the Syrian civil war to four years in prison. This is the first time in Kabardino-Balkaria that a person was convicted and sentenced for taking part in the Syrian... MORE

After the followers of Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed their allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) organization (sedmitza.ru, June 30), some of the rebel forces opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad became polarized. That polarization also affected the Chechen militant groups fighting in Syria, with... MORE

Ongoing tensions between Azerbaijan and Iran have filled the press in both countries for the past five years. However, these bilateral frictions have begun to deescalate since Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Iran on April 16, 2014. And last month (November 12–13), newly inaugurated... MORE

On November 19, the Center for Combating Extremism in Adygea summoned the editor-in-chief of the Natpress news agency, Aslan Shazzo, for a talk. Shazzo recounted what transpired during his talk with the police officials, providing a rare glimpse into the mechanisms Russian officials use to... MORE