On May 22 the Russian Supreme Chamber of Judges rejected Islam Burlakov’s nomination for an additional term as head of the Supreme Court of Karachaevo-Cherkessia. All 19 judges voted against Burlakov; now the nomination goes to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his approval or rejection.... MORE

Although the political establishment in Azerbaijan was chagrined by the May 12 agreement among Turkmenistan, Russia, and Kazakhstan for plans to construct a new gas pipeline to export Turkmen gas to Western markets through Russia, official Baku still sees great opportunities in bilateral relations with... MORE

The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to hold yet another face-to-face meeting that could result in a long-awaited breakthrough in international efforts to resolve the conflict over Karabakh. The U.S., French, and Russian diplomats acting under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group... MORE

On May 8, a seminar on fighting crime was held in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, a North Caucasian republic. The seminar, “Modern Russian Society: Burning Issues of Fighting Crime,” was divided into four sections: terrorism; drug trafficking; historical, judicial, philosophic, and criminological aspects of... MORE

A series of incidents staged in recent days by South Ossetian secessionist forces seeks to provoke the Georgian government into retaliating, so as to derail a political process that Moscow and Tskhinvali cannot control. That political process involves the consolidation of Tbilisi-backed alternative authorities under... MORE

Armenia’s main “party of power” scored a landslide victory in the May 12 parliamentary elections that were essentially recognized as legitimate by the West and significantly boosted Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian’s chances of succeeding President Robert Kocharian early next year. The development is a huge... MORE

Last week, Armenia and Azerbaijan marked the 13th anniversary of the cease-fire signed between the two governments in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, in 1994. But not only does the situation between the two countries remain tense, the prospects for peace keep getting smaller and smaller,... MORE

On March 11 residents of Karachaevsk, the second-largest city in the North Caucasus region of Karachaevo-Cherkessia, voted for mayor. Yet two months later, the final result of the election is still unknown. Meanwhile, two local political forces are fighting each other to gain control of... MORE