On April 9, Kazakhstani acting president Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, who assumed office on March 20, after the resignation of his predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev (see EDM, March 27), delivered his first address to the nation. In his speech, the former speaker of the Senate, whose current term... MORE

As long as the Russian government was able to pay Chechnya massive subsidies, Ramzan Kadyrov was generally prepared to keep his republic quiet and play by Moscow’s rules as far as his activities beyond Chechen borders were concerned. But now, Moscow faces economic stringencies that... MORE

Introduction In March, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference both convened their full annual sessions in Beijing. Collectively known as the “Two Sessions” (Lianghui, 两会), the annual meetings of these bodies comprise two of the largest annual events on the... MORE

Introduction—Could the Seventh Generation Be the Next in Power? Much of China’s future lies in the hands of cadres born in the 1970s—officials belonging to the “Seventh Generation” (7G) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In the last quarter of 2018, a dozen-odd of these... MORE

While it was tempting to label national consolidation in Belarus a growing trend (see EDM, April 4), the events of early April 2019 collectively suggest this qualification could have been premature. “It sometimes seems to me that our society is overcome by a slow-moving civil... MORE

Recently the Belarusian service of Deutsche Welle (DW) published an article entitled, “The Belarus Archipelago: How to Overcome the Divide in Belarusian Society?” which presents a roundup of opinions of influential Belarusians all representing one side of the divide and yet concerned about the danger... MORE

Russia’s Ministry of Defense has confirmed its involvement in the creation of a “sovereign Internet,” which marks part of its wider efforts to transform its system of military communications. This will involve the Russian military in the development of the Multiservice Transport Communication Network (Multiservisnaya... MORE

President Petro Poroshenko may be the most Moscow-hated Ukrainian politician today. The Russian state-run propaganda machine has been lambasting Poroshenko for months ahead of the March 31 presidential election, and top officials publicly joined in. According to the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev,... MORE

One of the Kremlin’s top propagandists, Dmitry Kiselev, called on March 31 for regime change in Moldova. Speaking on Russian state television, he urged russophile Moldovan President Igor Dodon’s Socialist Party and the pro-Western bloc NOW to form a situational alliance in order to replace... MORE

This past March, Russia witnessed another wave of gubernatorial resignations and appointments. This time, the power shifts impacted five regions: Chelyabinsk, Murmansk and Orenburg oblasts, as well as the republics of Altai and Kalmykia (Meduza, March 20). The Russian public has become accustomed to President... MORE