In late January, groups of self-identified veterans and several controversial Ukrainian people’s deputies began blocking railways linking the territory of Donbas (provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk) controlled by Moscow-backed militants to areas controlled by the central government. They say that it is wrong to trade... MORE

Even though fertility rates have fallen in Central Asia over the last two decades, the earlier rise in the number of births means that the populations of these countries continue to grow far more rapidly than anywhere else in the former Soviet space. Tajikistan is... MORE

A series of protests in Minsk and regional cities in recent weeks made headlines both inside Belarus and abroad (see EDM, February 21). The fact that they gathered the largest number of protesters in almost seven years sparked active discussions among commentators and on social... MORE

Belarus’s standoff with Russia over natural gas prices and the corresponding arrears continues. And so does Russia’s ensuing punishment of Belarus by way of cutting back on duty-free oil. Meanwhile, there is also no end in sight yet to the public rallies against the presidential... MORE

Late February not only marks a momentous anniversary in Russia’s long and difficult history, but also solemnizes a tragic event from its much more recent past. One hundred years ago (March 8, 1917, but February 23 on the Julian Calendar, still used by the Russian... MORE

It has been one month since a group of demobilized Ukrainian soldiers and veterans of the volunteer battalions took it upon themselves (starting on January 25) to enforce a trade embargo with the occupied territories of Donbas (region of eastern Ukraine encompassing the Donetsk and... MORE

Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev surprised his fellow citizens and international observers alike when he announced, on January 11, the establishment of a special commission to elaborate wide-ranging constitutional reform. It had been less than two months since Nazarbayev spoke to a group of Western journalists... MORE

One news story has been dominating headlines in Russia’s Krasnodar region (also known as Kuban, after the main river) for weeks: that of the alleged embezzlement of funds originally designated for the building of a perinatal clinic in Sochi. The funds were awarded under the... MORE

The Georgian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has reintroduced compulsory military service in the army, eight months after then–defense minister Tina Khidasheli abolished military conscription (Civil Georgia, February 15). As early as November 2016, Georgian Minister of Defense Levan Izoria announced his plans to ultimately restore... MORE

Belarus’s legendary calm was shattered by three momentous disruptions in recent days. First, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka surprisingly agreed to a two-hour meeting with Iosif Seredich, the editor-in-chief of the major opposition newspaper Narodnaya Volya. Second, mass rallies have gripped Minsk and Belarus’s other five regional... MORE