Latest Articles about Domestic/Social

Reforms Reach Uzbekistan’s Most Formidable Bastion of Power

Rustam Inoyatov, until recently the head of Uzbekistan’s National Security Service (NSS), the local successor of the Soviet KGB, is possibly the second most durable senior official in Tashkent, giving way only to the late president Islam Karimov himself. Many other senior officials were promoted... MORE

Belarus Repels Challenges to Stability and Sovereignty

The passing of Gene Sharp, the author of the influential 1973 book The Politics of Nonviolent Action, did not go unnoticed across the post-Soviet space. A sampling of headlines in the Russian media say much about the late political scientists’ perception in that realm: “The... MORE

Has the Scare in Moscow Over the US ‘Kremlin List’ Evaporated?

The paramount news in Moscow last week was the United States Department of the Treasury’s release of the long-expected report on senior Russian political figures and oligarchs—the so-called “Kremlin List” (see EDM, February 1). The list was mandated by the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions... MORE

Defense Spending Keeps Russian Space Program on Life Support

Roscosmos, the Russian government corporation responsible for Moscow’s space program, is consuming ever larger amounts of budgetary funds but is failing to provide anything in return. That situation has led to frequent predictions the Russian space program is on the brink of collapse. Some even... MORE

The Tsar’s Election and Referendums Without Politics

The predictability of the presidential elections in Russia, scheduled for March 18, forces the authorities to look for inventive ways to attract voters to the polls and ensure a high-enough turnout. When the result is known in advance, many people will surely prefer to ignore... MORE