Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
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Medvedev Experiments With Liberalism as Economy Plunges
On April 15 President Dmitri Medvedev created a sensation by granting an exclusive interview to Novaya Gazeta, known, in his own words, for "not licking up" to anybody, and then held meetings with the Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights and the Association... MORE
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Bishkek Sees Yet Another Political Assassination
As the presidential elections draw nearer, political assassinations and criminality are on the rise within Kyrgyzstan. On April 14, another Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjarbek Kydyraliyev, was shot dead outside his home in Bishkek. Kydyraliyev is the fifth MP killed in Kyrgyzstan since President Kurmanbek... MORE
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Political Instability in Ukraine Raises Fears of Intervention by Security Forces
On April 13 Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said on ICTV, "There is a potential threat of a forced takeover of power (in Ukraine)." A possible cancellation of elections could be part of an "attempt to maintain oneself in power by undertaking any risky action" Lytvyn... MORE
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Moldova’s Body Politic in Gridlock After Elections and Riots
The political crisis seems narrowly confined to downtown Chisinau with its state institutions, political party headquarters, and those colleges and lyceums that supply protest demonstrators from time to time. Beyond Chisinau's center, however, the countryside, "the profound Moldova," remains apathetic and seemingly uninterested. There, opinion... MORE
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Moldovan Authorities Caught Unprepared by Violent Riots
Moldova faces a prolonged political crisis following the April 7 violent devastation of the parliament and presidential buildings by a young mob, after the opposition's loss of the April 5 parliamentary elections (EDM, April 7, 9). The election observation mission, representing the major European institutions,... MORE
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Ukraine Planning Early Presidential Elections
Ukraine's parliament has scheduled the next presidential election for October 25, 2009, three months earlier than expected. President Viktor Yushchenko went further, signaling his readiness to step down sooner if an early parliamentary election were held simultaneously. He sided with the opposition Party of Regions... MORE
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Ergenekon Investigation Extends to Academics and NGOs
Turkish prosecutors investigating the Ergenekon criminal network have launched a new wave of arrests including academics, leaders of NGO's, and columnists allegedly part of the Ergenekon criminal network, which aimed to topple the elected government in cooperation with the military. In the latest wave of... MORE
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Georgian Government Fine-Tunes its Response to Radical Opposition Offensive
Georgia's extra-parliamentary opposition has launched its third attempt since mid-2007 at "regime change" -a post-modern version of the old-fashioned toppling of governments through other than electoral means (EDM, April 10 and the article above). This new campaign finds Georgia's state institutions considerably better prepared to... MORE
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Georgia Opposition Escalates Rhetoric Amid Dwindling Numbers
Extra-parliamentary opposition groups continue pushing for regime change in Georgia despite the diminishing numbers at their daily rallies in Tbilisi. All of Georgia's television channels are covering the events -including the leaders' dangerously inflammatory rhetoric- in full detail (Rustavi-2 TV, Imedi TV, April 10-13). Predictably... MORE
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Putin’s Banking Ally Sergei Pugachev Accused of Fraud
On February 11, 2009, Argumenti i Fakti, a tame but still high-profile Moscow based weekly, held a press conference on the Federation Council's (the upper house in the Russian Parliament) coming reform. This ordinary event would have gone unnoticed, if it were not for a... MORE