Georgia’s billionaire Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili insists he will resign from government and quit politics altogether after the October 27, 2013 presidential election. Ivanishvili first entered politics in October 2011, won the parliamentary elections and took over power at the head of his Georgian Dream... MORE

On September 19, the Russian polling organization Politekh unveiled its report on inter-ethnic relations in Russia at the Russian Public Chamber. The report detailed a spectacular rise of ethnic nationalism among ethnic Russians and other ethnic groups. The researchers warned that polarization may have serious... MORE

No protest demonstration or statement from the opposition generates as much concern in the Russian capital as any suggestion that the republics and regions of the Russian Federation may be about to begin a new “parade of sovereignties” (see EDM, August 13). The term refers... MORE

Militants carried out two significant attacks in Chechnya and Ingushetia on September 16 and 17. The attacks took place in the districts that are adjacent to each other and have the same name—Sunzha. In the past, there was a single Sunzha district in Checheno-Ingushetia, but... MORE

The “Russkie” organization, which emerged out of the 2011–2012 protest movement against the ruling United Russia party and now-President Vladimir Putin, organized a rally on September 14 to protest the “distribution of Russian citizenship,” a legislative act that received its first reading in the State... MORE

On August 20, Chinese authorities shot dead at least 16 ethnic Uighurs in a desert area of the Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR), accusing them of terrorism and illegal religious activity. They were among a group of more than 20 Uighurs surrounded and fired upon by... MORE

On September 2, a key figure in the Russian government, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, visited Tatarstan. After watching a presentation on the republic’s educational reforms, modeled on the Singapore school system that is renowned worldwide for its success, Shuvalov noted that “the benefits of... MORE

Over the past six weeks, the independent FerganaNews.com portal has conducted an online discussion, sparked by an article of the leader of the “Birdamlik” opposition movement, Bahordir Chorniyev, on the possibility that Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov and his regime could be overthrown by a “velvet... MORE

The chairman of the Solidarity Committee of World Circassians, Nusret Bas, recently handed over a petition of Circassian refugees from Syria to the Russian consul in Istanbul, Alexei Yerkhov. The appeal was prepared on behalf of 146 Circassian refugees residing in the southern Turkish city... MORE

Azerbaijan has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats over taking unsanctioned visits to the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia, saying this contradicts international law. Many governmental agencies in Baku have stated that such visits, made without prior notification of the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan, are... MORE