Moldova’s parliament is scheduled to elect a head of state on March 16 – the eighth presidential election attempt since 2009. The state presidency has been technically vacant for almost three years. Since April 2009, Moldova has held three parliamentary elections, seven presidential election attempts... MORE

Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported on March 3 that “the head of the Ingush bandit underground, Adam Tsyzdoev, was liquidated in a special operation” (https://lenta.ru/news/2012/03/03/kill/). Akhmetgeri Tsechoev was killed in the same special operation, which was carried out jointly by Ingushetia’s branches of... MORE

The national election season is over in Russia. On May 7, President-elect Vladimir Putin will be inaugurated and a new administration must be installed in the Kremlin together with a new Cabinet. The outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev seems assured of an appointment as next Prime... MORE

On March 12, Russian security forces killed six suspected rebels in the village of Mir in Kabardino-Balkaria’s Chegem district. A counter-terrorism operation regime was introduced in this small settlement with its name that, ironically, translates into English as “Peace.” According to government reports, five of... MORE

Bidzina Ivanishvili acts as proprietary leader of his Georgian Dream movement and lesser dependent groups. Having entered politics only five months ago (October 2011), he sounds confident of winning the upcoming elections, on the strength of the movement that he funds from his wealth. However,... MORE

President Viktor Yanukovych on March 7 pompously instructed the Ukrainian government to launch social reforms. The plan boils down to bribing the poorest strata with handouts at a time when the coffers are nearly empty and international creditors want to see less government spending. The... MORE

The latest update of Forbes’ billionaires’ list (www.forbes.com, March 7) raises Bidzina Ivanishvili’s net worth to $6.4 billion, up from the $5.5 billion listed by Forbes and confirmed by Ivanishvili’s office in 2011. The updated figure amounts to more than one half of Georgia’s annual... MORE

This article was originally published in the November 2011 Issue of Militant Leadership Monitor (mlm.jamestown.org). Subscribe to MLM today to receive leading analysis of militant figures like this without delay! After decades of carrying out unspeakable atrocities and thousands of kidnappings in Central Africa, the... MORE

On March 9, a Russian military helicopter was hit by rebels in Dagestan’s Karabudakhkent district, in the vicinity of the village of Gubden. The helicopter’s crew managed to land the aircraft and reportedly avoided casualties. Still, the attack was just the latest indicator of the... MORE

In the first post-election week, the political landscape in Russia has remained distorted and unsettled by expectations of probable aftershocks. Vladimir Putin, who had turned his election campaign into a divisive confrontation, declared that “combat operations” were over and thanked his supporters for his victory... MORE