Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Ales_Byalatsky_-_EDM_January_10__2012.jpg)
Belarus in 2011: The Return of Repressions
The year 2011 proved to be a difficult one for Belarus, in particular its opposition and human rights activists. Despite the release of some designated political prisoners over the summer, the crackdown on activists that began shortly before the December 19, 2010 presidential elections has... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Aslan_Tkhakushinov_-_EDM_January_10__2012.jpg)
Syrian Regime Loses Support from Circassian Community
President Bashar al-Assad is increasingly losing the support of the Circassian community many of whose members serve in his army and police. Such is the case of Yaser Ali Abaza, a Syrian Circassian lieutenant who, in a video posted to the Internet on December 29,... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Vladimir_Putin_and_Ramzan_Kadyrov_-_EDM_January_9__2012.jpg)
Can Putin Once Again Exploit the North Caucasus in 2012?
In the course of 2011, the North Caucasus remained Russia’s most unsettled region but what is likely to prove more significant, it became a problem not only for Moscow, which clearly lacks any effective strategy for pacifying it, but also in Moscow, where an increasing... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Alksei_Navalny_-_EDM_January_9__2012.jpg)
Russian Literature and Blogosphere Join Forces Against Putinism
In the holiday pause, it has become even more apparent that the revitalized Russian politics has acquired a new and rather untraditional character. Nobody is remotely interested in where President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin are skiing or attending church services, and their... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Wukan_-_Zhu_Mingguo_Speech.jpg)
The Grim Future of the Wukan Model for Managing Dissent
The apparently peaceful resolution of the “land grab” crisis in the Guangdong village of Wukan has been hailed as Beijing’s new model for tackling dissent. Last September, 15,000 peasants in Wukan in southeastern Guangdong Province, began staging protests against cadres who had illegally sold their... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Hoji_Akbar_Turajonzoda_-_EDM_January_6__2012.jpg)
Prominent Cleric and His Brothers Face Growing Pressure in Tajikistan
Prominent Tajik religious and political figure, Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda, and his brothers, Nuriddin and Muhammadjon, have, in recent weeks, come under increasing pressure from the authorities. On December 6, 2011, the Council of Ulamo (CoU), a government-controlled body regulating Islamic activities in the country, accused... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Yulia_Tymoshenko_-_EDM_January_6__2012.jpg)
Ukraine’s International Isolation Grows
The EU’s refusal to initial the Association Agreement (which includes a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement) at the December 19, 2011, EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv was a geopolitical setback. Initialing is a technical stage meaning that the negotiations are completed. The second stage is... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Vladimir_Putin_in_Chechnya_-_EDM_January_6__2012.jpg)
Putin Signals He Will Stick to the Status Quo in Chechnya
The end of 2011 saw another visit by Vladimir Putin to Chechnya. Putin’s first visit to Chechnya took place on December 31, 1999, while he was still serving as prime minister under President Boris Yeltsin. (Putin visited neighboring Dagestan several months earlier -- in August... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Zhanaozen_security_-_EDM_January_5__2012.jpg)
Kazakh Leader Extends State of Emergency in Zhanaozen
Calm has been restored in the oil-rich western part of Kazakhstan after clashes between police and protesters on December 16-17 that left at least 16 people dead and more than 100 injured, including striking oil workers. But Kazakhstan’s cultivated image as a bastion of stability... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Alla_Jioeva_-_EDM_January_5__2012.jpg)
Authorities in the North Caucasus Try to Nip Signs of Popular Uprisings in the Bud
On January 2, a court in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia penalized two people who had participated in a public protest, sentencing them to five and ten days of detention. On January 1, the well-known North Ossetian journalist Elina Marzoeva and the rights activist Ruslan Magkaev were... MORE