Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has recently made public comments about "the falsifiers of history," attacking the country and its heritage. This was a serious political statement of strategic importance - not merely a rhetorical proclamation, made just before the World War II Victory-Day military parade... MORE

Attendance at opposition rallies in Tbilisi has dwindled to a trickle, with only a few hundred protesters manning round-the-clock pickets for a standard fee of 30 Lari, plus food rations per night. The intention to bring opposition protesters to Tbilisi from the countryside has failed... MORE

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has long been at loggerheads with the secularist establishment, including army generals, judges and academics. Since 2007 the judiciary has led the opposition against the AKP. The constitutional court attempted to shut down the AKP and ban the... MORE

Moldova's newly elected legislature convened for its first full-fledged sitting on May 12 and elected the outgoing head of state, Vladimir Voronin, as Chairman of Parliament. Having completed two presidential terms (2001-2009), and barred by the constitution from seeking a third, Voronin continues as acting... MORE

With its underdeveloped multi-party system and state institutions, dysfunctional law-enforcement and internal security apparatus, budget revenues drying up amid an international financial crisis, and the unresolved Transnistria conflict simmering on the back burner, Moldova now faces the risk of a constitutional crisis.The nominal Communist Party,... MORE

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul sparked another debate on the Kurdish question, following his recent statement that he is hopeful that a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem might be imminent. Yet, Gul's call to address the Kurdish question within the context of improving the country's... MORE

The Russian authorities have long been dismissive of the growing neo-nazi movement within the country. However, on March 11 the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK, the high-level inter-departmental agency that coordinates the anti-terrorist activities of the security services) named neo-nazi youth groups as "one of the... MORE

The Ukrainian Interior Minister Yury Lutsenko has tendered his resignation following his arrest at a German airport. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko wanted to keep him since he was a loyal minister, but the opposition Party of Regions (PRU) instead attempted to use the opportunity to... MORE

A methane blast at the Tunlan coal mine in Shanxi on February 22 killed 78 miners and the last body was not recovered until five days later (Nanfang Daily, February 27). China’s numerous collieries, most of them being township and village enterprises (TVEs), have long... MORE

The Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, marking the 64th anniversary of the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany, offered a curious mixture of pomp, myth and nostalgia -all vital elements for the Russian leadership. As the Spassky Tower on Red Square struck... MORE