Facing a stalemate in its negotiations with Russia, Belarus unilaterally increased by 50 percent its tariff on the transit of Russian crude oil beginning on October 11. This is clearly a partial antidote to the lingering lack of bilateral agreement on the price of Russian... MORE

Three times in the course of the last century, the Russian military has formed ethnically-based units. During World War I, the tsars created the famed “savage” division, which consisted of regiments made up of people from the Caucasus. In the Russian Civil War, such groups... MORE

At a recent conference of the International Circassian Association (ICA), the governor of Kabardino-Balkaria, Yuri Kokov, proposed to create a unified writing script for all Circassians. Although the idea is not new, this marked the first time that the political leadership of one of the... MORE

Georgia held nationwide parliamentary elections on October 8. Against the background of the country’s stagnant economy and worsening living conditions, it was not entirely clear if the ruling Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia (GDDG) party would actually manage to hold on to power (see EDM, September 28).... MORE

Last Friday (October 7) marked ten years since the murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya. And while her killer and several accomplices were convicted, the mastermind of this crime is still at large (Novaya Gazeta, October 7). Two days prior... MORE

On September 27, Georgian authorities and activists commemorated the 23rd anniversary of the “Fall of Sukhumi.” On that date in 1993, an armed group of Abkhaz and North Caucasian fighters, clandestinely supported in various ways by Russian forces stationed in Abkhazia, managed to establish control... MORE

Belarus’s current economic situation is a cause for concern. The decline in GDP by the end of 2016 will amount to 3 percent. Between January and August, the country led the entire Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on inflation: retail prices have grown by 7.6... MORE

On September 30, trading on the Moscow Exchange pushed up the Russian ruble to 62.81 per US dollar, its highest recorded value for the current year (RT, October 3), marking a 31 percent appreciation versus the greenback since end of January 2016. The move reflected,... MORE

The ruler of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has finally reacted to the ongoing scandal related to Chechen refugees stuck in Belarus since the summer (see EDM, September 29). Using his favorite means of public communication, Instagram, Kadyrov dismissed claims that residents of Chechnya have to leave... MORE

October 2016 marks the centennial of the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railroad (Trans-Sib), Russia and the world’s longest railroad line. Yet, no special celebrations are planned—in part due to Russia’s current economic difficulties, but also because that fabled railroad may be reaching the end of... MORE