The just-ended Sixth Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee elevated President Xi Jinping to the status of “core of the leadership.” However, few concrete measures to fight corruption, were announced at the four-day conclave. This is despite the fact that the leitmotif... MORE

Note that this is Part 2 of a two-part series on the PLA’s planned personnel cuts. Part 1 can be found here. Part 1 of this series examined the mechanisms for downsizing the PLA by 300,000 personnel, including two-year enlistees, noncommissioned officers (NCOs), and officers... MORE

Kyrgyzstan will hold a referendum, on December 11, on controversial constitutional changes that have been harshly criticized by opponents (Azattyk.kg, Kloop.kg, Knews.kg, November 8). The country, which faces a presidential election in 2017, adopted the current constitution in June 2010, after the revolution that toppled... MORE

Following the second round of the parliamentary elections on October 30, the ruling party, Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia (GDDG), received a constitutional majority—over three-quarters of the seats in the new parliament. The opposition party of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, United National Movement (UNM), will have only... MORE

On Belarus’s eastern flank, the conflict with Russia over natural gas prices has reportedly been resolved; but the parameters of the resolution are not transparent. In the words of Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov, the price of gas remains $132 per 1,000 cubic meters, as... MORE

In addition to concrete steps aimed at upgrading Russian military capabilities, Moscow has launched a vigorous campaign promoting the cult of the military within Russian society, particular focusing on younger generation of Russians. On September 1, the government launched the so-called “Yunarmia” military-patriotic movement, to... MORE

In October, authorities in the city of Krasnodar inaugurated a monument commemorating Cossack ataman and Lieutenant General Grigory Rashpil. The monument was erected to mark the 320th anniversary of the Kuban Cossack Military. Rashpil took an active part in the Russian conquest of the North... MORE

By population, Bashkortostan is the largest non-Russian republic in the Russian Federation. And yet, its particular ethnic mix has meant that this Middle Volga region has heretofore been far less unsettled than many others. The titular Bashkirs, a Turkic Muslim people, form only 29.5 percent... MORE

This year’s United States presidential election campaign may have been like no other before it in the intensity of acrimony and the starkness of choices. But as every other, it comes to an end in the first full week of November. In its final stretch,... MORE

The following political landscape piece is a part of Eurasia Daily Monitor’s special quarterly series of strategic assessments of developments across Eurasia. These pieces examine recent important developments and trends in the region, particularly since this past summer, and anticipate where those trend lines may... MORE