On April 19, a Tajikistan court convicted 34 alleged members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan of a variety of crimes including, murder, establishing an unlawful armed group, provoking sectarian conflict and attempting to overthrow the government (BBC Tajiki, April 19). Prosecutors claimed that members... MORE

Ukraine’s two largest opposition parties – Fatherland, which is headed by the imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and the Front of Change (FZ) whose leader is the former parliamentary speaker and former foreign minister, Arseny Yatsenyuk – have agreed to join forces for the... MORE

On May 3, a double suicide attack shattered a large police checkpoint on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the principal city of Dagestan. According to government sources, 13 persons died in the attack and another 100 were injured (https://ria.ru/incidents/20120504/640710463.html, May 4). The first bomb contained an... MORE

Vladimir Putin’s presidential inauguration has taken place today in the Kremlin with all the ceremonial pomp and fanfare that is supposed to create the impression of invincibility of his quasi-monarchic reign. Later this week, he will appoint Dmitri Medvedev as the Prime Minister in acknowledgement... MORE

The April 22 visit of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the Island of Abu Musa near the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered new tensions between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (al-Jazeera, April 16; Gulf News April 16). The decades-long territorial... MORE

Recent events in and around Chechnya indicate a high level of tensions in the republic that also have become endemic in most parts of the North Caucasus. While being under Moscow’s control, Chechnya still is the main destabilizer of the region.According to the Chechen Interior... MORE

Vladimir Putin (59) has this week chaired his last meeting of the Russian government as Prime Minister. His presidential inauguration for a third six-year term is pending on May 7. The outgoing president, Dmitry Medvedev, is to be approved as Prime Minister at a special... MORE

On April 26, the parliament of Kabardino-Balkaria addressed Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus, Alexander Khloponin to facilitate an increase in the republican police force. Earlier in March at a parliament hearing, the Interior Minister of Kabardino-Balkaria, Sergei Vasiliev, complained about a shortage of manpower... MORE

Russia’s top officials have insisted the country’s plans to develop its Far Eastern regions remain unaffected by the presidential transition. Ahead of the Kremlin changeover, the authorities reiterated pledges to develop the Russian Far East, apparently aiming to turn these remote regions into a link... MORE