"All happy families are alike. Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," wrote Leo Tolstoy at the beginning of Anna Karenina. The same holds true for multinational states, yet among ethnically diverse states there are very few "happy families." Somehow I am at... MORE

After remaining vacant for nine months, the post of Public Defender (Ombudsman) will be filled by a representative of the NGO community. President Mikheil Saakashvili made this decision on July 6 during a meeting in his office with a group of leading Georgian NGOs. The... MORE

After several days of a violent war of words and escalating tension, the threat of an armed conflict in the secessionist region of South Ossetia appears to have passed. Before his departure for a three-day official visit to London on Monday, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili... MORE

On July 8 the Ossetian militia captured 47 Georgian servicemen and publicly humiliated them by forcing them to their knees before Russian TV cameras, roiling tensions between Tskhinvali and Tbilisi. When Ossetia released most of the captive on July 9, the highly explosive situation was... MORE

Commenting on the latest developments in and around the breakaway South Ossetia region before departing for London on July 12, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili made a remarkable statement. He said that certain forces in Russia want to duplicate the events of 1992, when opposition forces... MORE

Russia has prepared a new combat regiment for deployment in Ingushetia. The regiment consists of 600 servicemen, who joined under a contract after completing their military training in the North Caucasus Internal Troops District. The 126th Regiment of the Interior Troops (MVD) has been specifically... MORE

Tbilisi and the leaders of South Ossetia nearly came to blows this week, as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili continued his campaign to rein-in separatist republics. South Ossetian paramilitary groups had sealed off the main routes in and out of their capital, Tskhinvali, last month, but... MORE

In an interview published by two separatist websites on July 5-6, Chechen separatist president Aslan Maskhadov reiterated that he is ready for negotiations with the federal authorities, while claiming that his forces have the means to fight on for years, should the Kremlin choose to... MORE

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), already with a powerful say in the shape and planning of counter-terrorist operations in Chechnya, has disclosed serious concerns about remarks made by Chechen rebel commander Shamil Basayev on Al-Jazeera television. The FSB believes that future militant attacks may... MORE

"I'm leaving my political party and opt for political silence," declared the new chairman of the Georgian Supreme Court, Kote Kemularia, after his strong parliamentary confirmation on June 24 (Dilis Gazeti, June 25). Before becoming the third chairman of the Georgian Supreme Court in the... MORE