The Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza (March 1) (https://wyborcza.pl/1,75248,11261360,Tajna_historia_przejmowania_Ukrainy_przez_Rosje.html) provided details of Russia’s growing grip over Ukraine’s security forces. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin only dropped his support for Yulia Tymoshenko in mid-2011. This came about as a consequence of two... MORE

On March 16, 2012, the Moldovan parliament elected Nicolae Timofti as state president, a post technically vacant since April 2009. Proposed by the governing Alliance for European Integration (AEI, comprised of three parties), Timofti garnered 62 votes, one more than minimally necessary in the 101-seat... MORE

On March 16, a Russian parliamentary delegation flew to Syria to examine the plight of Syria’s Circassians and their possible repatriation to the North Caucasus. The delegation included members of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, and regional officials and activists from... MORE

There were few reasons to expect that Vladimir Putin would show a generosity of heart after the moving-to-tears but dubious victory in the presidential elections two weeks ago. Grounds for concern about possible repressions against the opposition – portrayed as “traitors” – appeared more serious,... MORE

The criminal trial of 37 persons charged with organizing and participating in the December riots in Zhanaozen and the village of Shetpe will start on March 27 in Aktau, the administrative center of Mangistau region in western Kazakhstan (KazTAG, March 14). The trial will be... MORE

With a flurry of conventions and behind-the-scenes discussions, Armenia’s leading political forces have officially begun preparations for upcoming parliamentary elections that will be critical for the political future of President Serzh Sargsyan. The election campaign is shaping up to be essentially a three-horse race between... MORE

In Kabardino-Balkaria today (March 16), three alleged militants were killed in a shootout with law-enforcement personnel. The incident took place at around 6:40 a.m., local time, on the border between the republic’s Baksansky and Prokhladnensky municipal districts. According to Russia’s Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK), police tried... MORE

In theory, and even by certain practical criteria, Moldova should qualify as Exhibit One for successful democracy promotion in non-western societies. All elections held in Moldova from 1991 to date were internationally certified as free and fair (“democratic process”). Indeed, the opposition defeated the incumbents... MORE

China’s dependence on other nations’ coal exports is growing. In 2009, China imported 126 million tons (Mt) of coal and became a net coal importer. In 2011, China sourced 182 Mt of coal from overseas suppliers, and overtook Japan as the world’s top coal importer.... MORE

There has been much speculation as to the next stage of the rift between Belarus and the European Union. In late February, the ambassadors of the 27 EU nations left Minsk in response to Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s request that the ambassador of Poland and... MORE