On March 28, the Russian state statistical service released the preliminary results of the 2010 census. The country’s net population loss comprised 2.2 million people or 1.6 percent of the general population, which declined from 145.1 million in 2002 to 142.9 million in 2010. The... MORE

In a calculated attack on Russian military science, Army-General Nikolai Makarov the Chief of the General Staff, argued that it has impaired progress (EDM, April 5). Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov coined the phrase in his 1929 book, Mozg Armii (The Brain of the Army) which refers... MORE

In an attempt to copy the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions, the Azerbaijani opposition organized a street demonstration in Baku on April 2. Despite the government prohibition of this event and the offer by the Mayor’s office to hold the rally in another location, the organizers... MORE

On March 18, the Russian press carried the announcement of the Presidium of the Academy of Military Sciences that the Academy’s General Assembly would occur on March 26, devoted to the assessment of the its work in the period 2005-2010. The presidium also stated that... MORE

An independent group of election observers released in Astana today its assessment of Kazakhstan’s April 3 presidential election. Comprised mostly of political and economic analysts from Washington think-tanks (including the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Institute for New Democracies, Hudson Institute, Georgetown University and... MORE

On April 1, the head of Kabardino-Balkaria, Arsen Kanokov, and Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus, Aleksandr Khloponin, jointly announced that the resignation of the republic’s government was imminent, probably due on April 4. Kanokov held his government responsible for Kabardino-Balkaria’s instability over the previous... MORE

Political agitation in Russia reached a new high on March 30, during a routine meeting of the Commission for Modernization of Economy, where President Dmitry Medvedev instead of promising more money for innovations started with an assessment of the investment climate: “It is very bad,... MORE

As the first anniversary of the April 7 “revolution” approaches, Bishkek is plagued by numerous small riots organized to challenge the parliament and government’s decisions. The riots may also be instigated by competing political forces ahead of the presidential elections later this year. The elections... MORE

The Russian security services is now asserting that the massive terrorist attack at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport on January 24, in which 37 people were killed and 120 more injured, will not be the last action carried out by a shahid (martyr) – meaning a suicide... MORE

As the surge of revolutionary fervor that has taken the greater Middle East by storm continues to spread, many observers are grappling with the political uncertainties that the tumult has produced from Morocco to the Persian Gulf and beyond.  The popular uprisings that prompted the... MORE