As the Hu Jintao era enters its final year, Chinese elites have started to review his administration, revealing many observers share a profound sense of disappointment. Hu Jintao has been criticized for his “inaction” (wuwei)—a frequently-used term in both Chinese blogs and daily conversations in... MORE

Since September, the residents of the Guangdong village Wukan have clashed with authorities over local government land seizures. Last week, however, Xue Jinbo, a village representative trying to negotiate with local officials, died in police custody with reportedly visible signs of torture, such as blood... MORE

On November 30, the Turkish Grand National Assembly passed a law that will allow citizens born before 1983 to avoid military service upon the payment of an exemption. Starting by January 1, 2012, those who comply with the requirements will have a six month-period to... MORE

On December 15, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held his now traditional annual phone-in press conference. During the phone-in, Putin mentioned the North Caucasus 21 times.  It appeared that the Prime Minister still credits himself for bringing Chechnya back under Moscow’s control, as he mentioned the... MORE

Georgian billionnaire Bidzina Ivanishvili launched his political movement, “Georgian Dream,” on December 11 in Tbilisi’s State Concert Hall. The venue and format were tailored to one of his core constituencies: the Tbilisi intelligentsia that lost state support after the Soviet era and survives professionally on... MORE

The founder of the Dagestani independent weekly newspaper Chernovik, Khadzhimurad Kamalov, was shot to death In Makhachkala late yesterday (December 15). The incident took place around 11:30 pm, local time, near the newspaper’s offices in the Dagestani capital. Kavkazsky Uzel reported that the murder was... MORE

The end of the year is the time to review the year’s events. In the case of the North Caucasus, we can safely conclude that Russian authorities stopped hiding the fact that the situation in the region is alarming (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/195952/) and there are no signs... MORE

The December 10 demonstration, gathered on Bolotnaya Square in downtown Moscow to protest massive election fraud during the December 4 Duma elections, was massive: the official count by state police was 25,000, while organizers claimed some 150,000. Independent calculations were of 60,000 to 70,000 protesters... MORE

November 2011 witnessed interesting developments in Belarus: the announcement of the formation of a territorial army by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and a new advisory body called the Council for the Development of an Informational Society (CDIS), run by an existing Operative-Analytical Center and headed by... MORE

On December 8, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych signed the law on parliamentary elections, which parliament passed on November 17. The new law should allow the ruling Party of Regions to win the election scheduled for October 2012, despite its declining popularity. The elections law raises... MORE