It will soon be one year since Kyrgyzstan adopted a parliamentary system of governance. Although the country’s political life is more transparent, it is also increasingly unpredictable. Almost all parties represented in parliament favor a stronger political center. Likewise they all see the upcoming presidential... MORE

Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, during his marathon speech to the Duma on April 20, referred to ambitious plans to modernize the armed forces and specifically singled out the Navy as a key priority. Putin explained: “Speaking of defense-related issues once again, I would like... MORE

Executive Summary:The Southern Mobility Movement (SMM) of south Yemen, an umbrella organization for many secessionist oriented groups in the south, is using the increasing weakness of the Salih government and eroding state authority to its advantage. The absence of central state authority, already weak in... MORE

Following the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, the Soviet government negotiated the massive handover of many of USSR citizens – even those who had emigrated before the war. Many of the Soviet citizens who found themselves in the West by the... MORE

Ukrainian authorities have launched a fresh criminal investigation against former Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, along with the criminal prosecution of Oleh Dubyna, head of Naftohaz Ukrainy under Tymoshenko’s premiership. Both are charged with exceeding their powers and inflicting massive economic damage on Ukraine by concluding... MORE

The rhetoric of renovation and reinvigoration cultivated by President Dmitry Medvedev has been severely curtailed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who presented to the State Duma last week the last report on the work of his government. He claimed full credit for the fact that... MORE

Since the beginning of the Egyptian Revolution on January 25, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has tried to project an image of unity in its forces, actions and demands. The Brotherhood has been in the forefront of those who insisted on putting the former President... MORE

In troubled Pakistan, sacred spaces such as Sufi shrines have increasingly been the target of bloody attacks by Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. The Taliban-Deobandi school of Islam perceives Sufi practices such as devotional whirling dances, the veneration of Sufi saints and other rituals as being... MORE

Russia’s intelligence services reported on the night of April 18 that they had identified the body of Israpil Validzhanov, who was better known as Emir Hassan, the head of Dagestan’s Sharia Jamaat armed resistance movement, among four militants killed near the village of Tashkapur in... MORE

In an annual government report to the Duma on April 20 that lasted together with the Q&A more than four hours, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin outlined his economic and political agenda for the long-term future – at least until 2020. This was Putin’s third annual... MORE