Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
Will Tymoshenko Unite Ukrainian Opposition?
Yulia Tymoshenko has found herself in the opposition after losing the February 7 presidential election runoff to Viktor Yanukovych. Her coalition in parliament has ceased to exist, and on March 3 a new pro-Yanukovych majority dismissed her from the post of prime minister. Although Tymoshenko... MORE
Circassians Look to Georgia for International Support
On March 21, participants in a landmark conference “Hidden Nations, Enduring Crimes: The Circassians and the Peoples of the North Caucasus Between Past and Future” was held in Tbilisi. Participants at the conference appealed to the Georgian parliament to recognize Russian actions in the northwestern... MORE
The Tulip Revolution: Five Years On
Kyrgyzstan is in much worse shape today compared to five years ago, when the then little known Kurmanbek Bakiyev came to power. Since the change of leadership occurred as a result of mass demonstrations, and the largely unpopular President, Askar Akayev, chose to flee the... MORE
Sannikau Throws His Hat in the Ring
A key opposition leader in Belarus has declared his candidacy for the next presidential elections, scheduled for 2011. Andrei Sannikau, the leader of the civic movement European Belarus, held an interview with “bloggers” in mid-March to outline his policies and answer questions. His decision reflects... MORE
Kyrgyzstan: New Junta in Formation
Kyrgyzstan is teetering on the brink of becoming yet another state ruled by military officials. To date, several military officers have been granted unprecedented political power, which they have used against the regime’s opponents. There are signs that President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is no longer able... MORE
Security Implications of Shi’a Politics in Post-Election Iraq
Although the final count will not be available until the end of March, the preliminary results from Iraq’s parliamentary election show a strong victory for the State of Law list (SLA), led by the current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the Iraqiyya Coalition, led by... MORE
Gas Lobby Takes Control of Ukraine’s Security Service
On March 11, the Ukrainian parliament appointed Prime Minister, Nikolai Azarov, and a new Security Service (SBU) Chairman, Valery Khoroshkovsky. As Ukrayinska Pravda (February 24) warned: “An additional bonus for the Liovochkin-Firtash group could be the appointment of Khoroshkovsky as the head of the SBU... MORE
Powerful Interests Stifle Reforms at National People’s Congress
A major theme of the just-concluded National People’s Congress (NPC) is social and distributive justice, or the ways and means to help disadvantaged sectors such as peasants and migrant workers in China get a fairer share of the fruits of the “Chinese economic miracle.” Premier... MORE
All the President’s Men in a Deja-vu Ukrainian Cabinet
A new pro-Yanukovych majority in parliament appointed its cabinet on March 11. Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov’s, cabinet, numbering 29 ministers, is the largest in Europe after Belarus. It looks very much like the cabinet of the then-Prime Minister Yanukovych in 2006-2007. Azarov’s cabinet is dominated... MORE
Medvedev’s Euro-Modernization Hits the Corruption Wall
An interesting feature of President Dmitry Medvedev’s trademark idea of “modernization” is that each time it starts to work, he feels compelled to push the brakes and engage in back-pedaling, and once Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, intercepts the initiative, Medvedev tries to add spin to... MORE