The federal government in Moscow may be growing increasingly frustrated with the Chechen leadership. Despite frequently repeated and vocal claims that life in Chechnya has returned to normal, in reality the launch of large-scale operations targeting the insurgency across the republic suggests a new wave... MORE

The prosecutors investigating the Ergenekon criminal network that allegedly aimed at overthrowing the Turkish government by organizing a military coup, has finalized the third indictment, consisting of 1,454 pages and indicting 52 high profile individuals. The judges hearing the Ergenekon trial accepted the indictment and... MORE

On July 24 Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov declared his country's intention to take Azerbaijan to the international court of arbitration (ICA) over disputed oil fields. This announcement has shocked the Azeri government. Berdimuhamedov, speaking at a cabinet meeting, blamed Azerbaijan for the unsettled legal status... MORE

On July 26 the Balkar people sent the strongest signal yet aimed at convincing the authorities to take into account their opinions and preferences, stating that they will demand autonomous districts within Kabardin-Balkaria or if it does not work then a separate autonomous republic. The... MORE

Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan – PKK), plans to release a “roadmap” of PKK conditions for laying down arms in the ongoing, decades-old ethnic-Kurdish insurgency in southeast Turkey. Details are now emerging of the project the PKK... MORE

After having given Colonel Qaddafi’s regime what they thought it wanted to hear, namely a rejection of the merger of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) with Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda, the exiled leaders of the LIFG must have been expecting a positive sign from... MORE

The outbreak of ethno-sectarian unrest in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Autonomous Region (XAR) between members of the local Uighur community, an ethnic Turkic population that is predominantly Sunni Muslim, and ethnic Han Chinese, China’s majority ethnic group, has largely subsided on the surface.  The hostilities began... MORE

Several recent international decisions relating to Ukraine have shown that attitudes toward the local economy have improved following signs of stabilization. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the allocation of another loan tranche, a rating agency expressed optimism on the sovereign ratings, and the European... MORE

Ahead of the first anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war (August 7), Russian and South Ossetian forces are creating small-scale incidents with a potential for escalation on both sides of the demarcation line (Interfax, international news agencies, July 27 - August 5). These incidents, ongoing since... MORE

On July 27 a group of ethnic Kumyks, one of the major ethnic groups in Dagestan, blocked the federal highway "Kavkaz" in northern Dagestan. According to various estimates, three to four hundred people took part in the protests. Heavy trucks and other vehicles were used... MORE