As anticipated (see EDM, July 27, 28), Latvia’s parliamentary elections held on September 17 have brought the country to a potentially fateful crossroads. The choice is between consolidating Latvia’s national statehood as part of the West, or empowering the leftist Russian party to undermine those... MORE

This week, Russia’s long serving Transport Minister Igor Levitin was called to answer angry questions in the Duma after a series of tragic plane crashes and a riverboat sinking last July left hundreds of passengers and crew members dead. On September 7, a Yak-42 jet... MORE

On September 16, the French state bank Caisse des Depots et Consignations and Russian state company Resorts of the North Caucasus signed an agreement on setting up a joint venture. The French bank promised to raise 10 billion Euros ($14.2 billion) within a year for... MORE

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Serhy Tyhypko, a former banker who came third in the 2010 presidential elections, has sacrificed his party’s future for his personal ambitions. His liberal party, Strong Ukraine (SU), will be merged with the ruling Party of Regions (PRU) ahead of the... MORE

As Kyrgyzstan’s presidential election approaches, potential frontrunners are emerging. On September 14, reportedly 32 candidates registered with the Central Elections Commission to run on October 30 (www.24.kg). This is 50 candidates less than one month ago when over 80 hopefuls announced their presidential ambitions. The... MORE

On September 14 in Moscow, rights activists held a press conference on the theme “The North Caucasus: Journalists and Human Rights Activists under Threat.” The head of European Division of the international organization Reporters Without Borders, Johann Beer, stated that freedom of press in the... MORE

The gathering of the marginal but officially registered Pravoe Delo (Right Cause) political party last week resulted in a massive scandal that has effectively destroyed it and resonated strongly in the liberal and business circles that normally disdain politics. This explosive effect was created not... MORE

In Dagestan, the imam of the village of Kadar in the republic’s Buinaksk district was shot to death yesterday (September 15). The attack on Zainudin Daiziev took place around 10:20 p.m., local time, when two unidentified attackers shot him in his home of in the... MORE

Numerous official websites from the past six months—in Beijing, Qingdao, Shandong, and Jiangsu among others—mention the 610 Office, an entity engaged in efforts to “carry out comprehensive investigations,” strengthen “transformation,” and prevent unwanted incidents (Pingyin.gov.cn, September 5; Jsrm.gov.cn, August 15; Laoshan.gov.cn, April 2011). A June... MORE

While much of the Middle East and North Africa has been swept by a “spring of democracy” since early this year, the Middle Kingdom is shrouded in deep winter. The latest manifestation of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) administration’s determination to “nip all destabilizing forces... MORE