In the European Union’s second Eastern Partnership Integration Index (EPII) report, trends evident already last year are continuing (https://eap-index.eu/). Ukraine is moving “away from its one-time status as the ENP [European Neighborhood Policy] poster child.” This report confirms the EU’s assessment of the first year... MORE

On June 19, Amnesty International issued a report titled “The Circle of Injustice: Security Operations and Human Rights Violations in Ingushetia.” The report points to five republics where armed groups strike most often: Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, North Ossetia and Kabardino-Balkaria. Although Amnesty International recognizes that... MORE

Economic preaching and demagogy shaped debates in Russia last week as President Vladimir Putin partook in the G20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attended the UN Conference on Sustainable Development hosted by Brazil. At the same time, the St. Petersburg... MORE

Against the backdrop of the general security situation across the North Caucasus, where in May alone 164 people were victims of the conflict between the government and the armed opposition, the situation in Chechnya appears to be less intense. Violence in the republic in May... MORE

After the loss of the January 2012 presidential election, the opposition-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan had been searching for a new chairperson to lead the party. Since its defeat, the DPP’s presidential candidate, Dr. Tsai Ing-Wen, a noted academic and former chairman of the... MORE

Political reform in China since Deng Xiaoping’s “Southern Tour” in 1992 has seemed a distant if always tempting narrative for analysts and observers. The cycles of foreign hope and disappointment with Chinese leadership attest to this. The most recent stirrings of political reform discussion may... MORE

Every news item about insurgent activities in Karachaevo-Cherkessia should be put in the wider context of the general situation in the North Caucasus. On a regional scale, the events in this republic are immeasurably small, especially compared to the other North Caucasus republics or to... MORE

The Moscow Center of Strategic Studies (CSS) – an influential think tank led by well-known economist, former parliamentarian and first deputy economics minister in Vladimir Putin’s first government, Mikhail Dmitriev – has recently published a report about the ongoing political and economic crisis in Russia.... MORE

On June 19, the first meeting of the new Russian government commission for the socio-economic development of the North Caucasus took place in Grozny, Chechnya. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev presided over the meeting and stated that development of the North Caucasus was “one of the... MORE

In June, 2010, an armed conflict between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz occurred in the south of Kyrgyzstan. According to official statements, around 500 people were killed; according to unofficial data – more than 2,000. Most victims were Uzbeks. According to official reports, 3,746 houses were... MORE