The reaction of Russia’s Islamic community to the ongoing prosecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar occurred suddenly and unexpectedly. Groups organized unsanctioned rallies in front of the Myanmar embassy in Moscow, in Makhachkala (Dagestan) and in Grozny (Chechnya), on September 3 and 4. Some demonstrators... MORE

After the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine failed, on the last day of its July session, to approve health reform bill #6327, a vote on the second reading awaits approval by the legislature. Addressing the Rada, on September 5, Speaker Andriy Parubiy cautiously mentioned the... MORE

Undeniably, Belarus and Russia are culturally close. In and of itself, this closeness is no liability except for its lopsidedness. Russia’s pervasive sway in every critical aspect of Belarusian life, from the economy to language and from historical memory to people’s worldview, keeps in check... MORE

For most of the last two decades, specialists on Central Asia have asked what will happen when one or another of its longtime authoritarian leaders passes from the scene. Many have made particularly dire predictions, including a descent into chaos or the rise of a... MORE

On September 1, 2017, President Petro Poroshenko announced that the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) would issue instructions to tighten and strengthen Ukrainian borders, a major feature of which would be the stringent requirement that Russian citizens possess biometric passports when entering Ukraine (President.gov.ua,... MORE

The United States’ ambassador to Yerevan, Richard M. Mills, praised the participation of an Armenian unit in the US-led Noble Partner 2017 exercise, held on July 30 to August 12, in Georgia, along with Georgian, British, German, Slovenian, Turkish and Ukrainian military forces. Ambassador Mills... MORE

Not only beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In the absence of attention-grabbing cataclysms, the most talked about issue related to Belarus depends on who you ask. Thus, ordinary Belarusians are mostly preoccupied with price hikes, the cost of utilities in particular, and... MORE

On July 20, the Chinese government released its Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan. [1] The plan has gained significant media attention in part because it links AI with another topic that has drawn a considerable amount of attention, China’s “social credit system” (社会信用体系). Social... MORE

Amid rising tensions between the United States and North Korea, Gen. Fang Fenghui (房峰辉) greeted his American counterpart, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford in Beijing on August 14. Recognizing the necessity of clear communication as the U.S. assesses possible military... MORE

Two developments have been dominating discussions in Belarus in recent weeks. The first of these took place in Grosseto, Italy. On July 21, Violetta Skvortsova of Belarus won the triple jump at Europe’s junior track-and-field championship. During the awards ceremony, the organizers played the anthem... MORE