Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
New Federal District Will Not Stabilize the North Caucasus
Against the backdrop of the unavailing year in 2009 for Russian soldiers in the North Caucasus, Moscow is trying to explain to the Russian people why other countries want to interfere in its internal affairs (www.infox.ru, January 16). Of course, one would think that it... MORE
Rights Activists Say Corruption in Chechnya is an “Unwritten Rule”
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev presided over a meeting of the collegium of the Federal Security Service (FSB) yesterday (January 28) devoted to examining the results of the agency’s work last year and its tasks for 2010. The Russian president said that the FSB’s main tasks... MORE
Russia Backs Yanukovych in Ukraine’s 2010 Elections
Russian media coverage of the 2010 Ukrainian elections from the outset portrayed it as a two-horse race between Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko. In the first phase of the election campaign (October-November 2009), the Russian media did not express a preference, but since the first... MORE
Bakiyev Downsizes Government and Increases Presidential Powers
Kyrgyzstan is currently witnessing a rapid and further centralization of presidential powers. On January 26, the Kyrgyz parliament’s special committee on constitutional legislation approved several new presidential rights. These include the president’s right to appoint a special presidential council that would in turn have the... MORE
Yanukovych, Tymoshenko Hold Opposite Views on Russian Gas
Both Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her opponent in the February 7 presidential election runoff, the former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, have sought Moscow’s support for their campaigns. Both are expected to be rather pro-Russian compared to the outgoing pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko, who is... MORE
Uncertainty Over Who Will Lead Dagestan Puts the Volatile Republic Further on Edge
On January 21, public protest action took place in the southern Dagestani city of Derbent. The estimated 2,000 protestors demanded the resignation of the current mayor of the city, Feliks Kaziahmedov, and a new mayoral election.The mayoral election that took place in Derbent in October... MORE
Medvedev Tries in Vain to Modernize Putin’s Political System
President Dmitry Medvedev has recently made several cadre decisions and political moves aimed at asserting his authority over the bureaucratic machine. Some of them fall disappointingly short of meeting demands sharpened by the economic recession; others are accurately subverted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The... MORE
Yanukovych Consistently Russia-Leaning in Ukraine’s Presidential Election
Russia’s authorities have adopted a position of studied equidistance between the two main candidates during Ukraine’s presidential election campaign. Moscow has interfered only to the extent of ostracizing President Viktor Yushchenko, whose re-election chances it knew to be nil. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Party... MORE
The Politics Behind Iraq’s Second Parliamentary Election
Iraqis will head to the polls on March 7 in the second parliamentary election since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Iraqi politics are in a state of flux that is reflected in the run-up to the vote. The election law was held up... MORE
Hu’s “New Deal” with Tibet: Chinese Characteristics and Tibetan Traits?
The Hu Jintao administration has significantly tightened policy over Tibet in an apparent attempt to ensure the proverbial Chinese Communist Party’s “long reign and perennial stability” in the restive region. More hard-line cadres are being appointed to run the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). While unprecedented... MORE