On June 12 hundreds of protesters in the Elbrus district of Kabardino-Balkaria blocked the highway that connects this mountainous resort region with the republic's lowlands. The protestors were current and former tourist industry employees demanding shares in a tourist company, a just distribution of land... MORE

Russia's national day had all the necessary flags in the streets and a reception in the Kremlin, but few Russians see the point in celebrating the "Declaration on State Sovereignty" approved by the Congress of People's Deputies on June 12, 1990. That act delivered a... MORE

On June 12, the liberal left Taraf daily triggered a political crisis in Ankara. Taraf claimed to have uncovered a four-page unclassified document, detailing an alleged action plan for the military to combat the "reactionary activities" against secularism. It was allegedly prepared by a colonel... MORE

The oldest opposition party in independent Belarus, the Popular Front, appears to be on the verge of yet another split within its ranks, one that according to its leader Lyavon Barcheuski, might result in its extinction. On June 20, the Popular Front will hold a... MORE

Exploiting ongoing unrest in Southern Yemen, al-Qaeda’s leader in Yemen released an audio statement on May 13 entitled “To Our People in the South,” in support of southern Yemeni efforts to secede from Yemen. The audiotape was released through the jihadi media outlet al-Malahim (shmo5alislam.net,... MORE

Approximately one month before the presidential election in July, Kyrgyzstan’s incumbent leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev has clearly emerged as its most likely winner. The president has managed to strengthen his personal leverage over the parliament, the Central Elections Commission (CEC) as well as the security structures... MORE

Voter apathy within the E.U. during the European parliamentary elections on June 4 resulted in only 40 percent of Europeans' voting. The election witnessed conservatives and center-right parties winning a decisive victory within most European countries. Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Holland, Austria, Hungary,... MORE

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan has tightened his grip on power after municipal elections in Yerevan were controversially won by his Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). The country's main opposition groups have rejected the official results of the May 31 vote as fraudulent. The largest of... MORE

The talks on forming a coalition between Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Party of Regions (PRU) leader Viktor Yanukovych have failed due to mutual distrust. Electing the next president in parliament was among the main conditions for a grand coalition that would have permitted Tymoshenko... MORE

Turkey continues to debate the implications of an ongoing controversial fraud case in the German courts involving, among others, individuals close to the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP). After the Turkish courts launched this case, the Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc added a new... MORE