A commonly held view in Russia is that the government consists of “a good tsar and bad boyars.” That is, the population tends to have a positive attitude about whoever sits at the top of the ruling hierarchy; while most, or even all, of the... MORE

The Terek Cossack Military is facing a crisis as the Cossacks and the Russian authorities cannot find a candidate for the leadership position in the organization that would satisfy both sides. The initial plan to hold elections for the new ataman (Cossack chieftain) in February... MORE

On January 31, several thousand protesters gathered in downtown Tbilisi. They demanded that the government more actively pursue the prosecution of high-ranking members of the United National Movement (UNM) party for their alleged abuses of power during UNM’s tenure in government until 2012–2013. The rally... MORE

On January 15, the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan received James Appathurai, the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia. They expressed satisfaction with the fact that Armenia’s relations with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are developing normally, and there is... MORE

Before the end of 2015, a joint Training and Evaluation Center will open in Georgia under the auspices of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), within the framework of the substantial package of cooperation that was granted to the country at the Alliance’s September 2014... MORE

More than in most parts of the world, the former Soviet space is a place where battles about the present and the future are waged over the past. Most famously, Russians and Ukrainians disagree profoundly whether Kievan Rus marked the beginning of Russian statehood, as... MORE

During a press conference in Yerevan on January 27, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif said that various opportunities for bilateral economic cooperation could potentially be beneficial, and Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) could represent one such opportunity. He noted... MORE

On the night of January 21, ethnic Russians and ethnic Armenians clashed in the city of Mineralnye Vody in Stavropol region. Mikhail Grigoryan, a 23-year-old ethnic Armenian, stabbed to death Dmitry Sidorenko, a 29-year-old ethnic Russian and member of the Russian armed forces. The suspect... MORE

As the investigation into the January 12 murder of the Avetisyan family (see EDM, January 16) continues, several top Armenian officials have admitted that the Russian side’s refusal to hand over Valery Permyakov, Russian soldier who is the main suspect in the case, contradicts existing... MORE

On January 2–3, clashes took place along the Line of Contact between Azerbaijan and the unrecognized, Armenian-backed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), resulting in casualties on both sides. Though a cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan was reached in 1994, it has regularly been violated for more than... MORE