The October 1 by-elections to fill five seats in the Georgian parliament produced a convincing victory for the ruling National Movement party. Party leader and President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili openly declared these by-elections to be an indicator of the electorate's confidence in his policies... MORE

Armenia's ambitious parliament speaker, Artur Baghdasarian, has solidified his positions this week by exploiting an issue that touches a raw nerve in Armenian society and is a major ingredient of his populist discourse. Baghdasarian, who is seen as one of President Robert Kocharian's potential successors,... MORE

On September 26-27, OSCE Minsk co-chairs Bernard Fassier (France), Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), and Steven Mann (the United States) met in Vienna to discuss further steps in the Karabakh peace process. Before the meeting, Azerbaijan's foreign minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, declared, "The peace process has not yet... MORE

Armenia's ongoing local election season is exposing the degradation of its democratic institutions as well as the weakness of its civil society. The polls, effectively boycotted by the Armenian opposition, are essentially an intra-government affair, with rival wealthy individuals seeking to further their business interests... MORE

So far, the Georgian government has weathered the latest cycle of disturbances in the country's restive regions. Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, came under mortar fire on the heels of its celebration of the 15th anniversary of its declaration of secession from Georgia. The coincidence... MORE

After three month of peaceful demonstrations, last Sunday (September 25) Azerbaijan's opposition parties and police clashed in downtown Baku. Ministry of Interior forces broke up the unauthorized rally by the main opposition alliance, Azadliq (Freedom), which unites the three largest opposition parties (Musavat, Popular Front,... MORE

On September 19-20 in Tskhinvali, South Ossetian authorities led celebrations of the 15th anniversary of the declaration of secession from Georgia. Although the September 20, 1990, declaration and some subsequent documents speak of "independence" and a "sovereign state," the authorities in practice seek outright annexation... MORE

September 17 became "Black Saturday" in the history of the dollar in Azerbaijan. In just a few hours, the exchange rate of U.S. dollar to the Azerbaijani manat fell by almost 20% (from 4,600 manat per dollar to 3,800 manats), creating chaos and panic in... MORE

Russia's state-run power monopoly, Unified Energy Systems (UES), is close to formalizing its effective purchase of Armenia's electricity grid, giving Moscow near total control over the Armenian energy sector. The government in Yerevan indicated on September 15 that it would green light a deal that... MORE

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his team are continuing to send varied signals about their plans for Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia. The recent initiative by Georgian and Abkhaz officials to advance confidence-building measures by signing an agreement about non-resumption of hostilities (see EDM, August... MORE