Latest Articles about Domestic/Social

Georgian Politics Without the ‘Strong Man’: Has Ivanishvili Really Relinquished Power?
The founder and leader of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, announced he is leaving politics forever. In his last interview with Georgian public television (January 11, 2021), Ivanishvili underlined that he would no longer support GD, either as head of the... MORE

Belarusian Realities: Between Dreams and Policy Objectives
Back on August 17, 2020, shocked by a week of powerful post-election protests, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka openly conceded he had overstayed his welcome at the helm of power and promised the workers of the rebellious Wheel Tractor Factory a new national constitution and early... MORE

De-Cossackization—Modern-Day Echoes of a Soviet Crime
On January 24, 1919, the Bolshevik government launched a drive to exterminate the leadership of the Cossacks in Russia, viewing them as ineluctably hostile to the revolution. The original order was secret and specified that Bolsheviks should go after the atamans and other leaders of... MORE

Putin Postures as a ‘Davos Man’ While Bolstering His Autocracy
The idea to invite President Vladimir Putin to deliver a special address at the World Economic Forum, which made “The Great Reset” the theme for its annual Davos meeting last week (January 25–29), was dubious at best. Klaus Schwab, the veteran director of the forum,... MORE

Year 2020 in Review: Uzbekistan Grapples With Pandemic, Disasters, Russian Pressure
The fourth year of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev rule proved his most difficult yet, not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic but also due to a series of natural and man-made disasters throughout 2020 that tested the Uzbekistani government’s strength to its limits. Poor-quality engineering and... MORE

Moscow Adopting East India Company Strategy to Develop Russian Far East
When analysts consider Vladimir Putin’s strategy for running the regions of the Russian Federation, they generally focus on his supra-regional “innovations.” Those have included the federal districts he created at the start of his presidency (Ura.ru, April 24, 2014), the amalgamation of federal subjects he... MORE

Strategic Thinking and a Fight for Belarusian Democracy
“Remember, I said a year ago […] that perhaps a time will come when [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and I will have to stand next to each other and shoot back. And you took it for a joke. But you now see how life has... MORE

Year 2020 in Review: Kazakhstan Struggling With Structural Reform Amid COVID-19 Crisis
As in much of the rest of the world, the year 2020 in Kazakhstan was dominated by the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which to date has claimed the lives of more than 2,300 Kazakhstanis, according to a government-run information portal. Since August 2020, the... MORE

Kremlin Tests Limits of New US Administration
The complexity of the extraordinary crisis inherited by the United States’ new presidential administration is apparent for all its international partners and opponents, so most presume Washington will remain largely preoccupied with domestic affairs for the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, US allies are hopeful that Washington... MORE

Growing Presence of Cossacks in 2021
The role of Cossack organizations in Russian life will likely grow in 2021, as last month’s Presidential Council for Cossack Affairs (PCCA) meeting demonstrated. The council’s deputy chairman and presidential adviser, Anatoliy Seryshev, outlined concrete steps in the 2021–2030 strategy to develop Cossack formations after... MORE