The financial crisis in the North Caucasus is gradually intensifying, as the large debt of its republics is exacerbated by falling revenues (see EDM, June 22, 2015). Paradoxically, the economic crunch first of all affects the region’s “quiet” republics. Moscow prioritizes financial support for those... MORE

Beijing and Bishkek have started negotiations on relocating 40 Chinese factories and plants to Kyrgyzstan. While Kyrgyzstan’s government says that this will help reindustrialize the country, there are concerns in Kyrgyz society that such plans will exacerbate Chinese expansion domestically. The government in Bishkek has... MORE

A key link in China’s Maritime Silk Road (MSR) suffered a setback in February when Bangladesh’s Awami League (AL) government shelved plans for construction of a deep-sea port at Sonadia, south of Chittagong. Bangladesh is an important participant in China’s “One-Belt, One-Road” (OBOR) initiative. An... MORE

An epic struggle between two Russian billionaires of Dagestani origin is unfolding in Dagestan. Suleiman Kerimov and Ziyavudin Magomedov are sparring over control of Makhachkala’s commercial seaport on the Caspian Sea. On May 27, the Russian government agency for sea and river transportation appointed a... MORE

On May 25, 2016, one and a half years after the economic crisis hit Russia, President Vladimir Putin called together a session of the Economic Coun­cil Presidium, an advisory body established back in 2012, but last convened two years ago (Kremlin.ru, May 25; Vedomosti, April... MORE

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took office on May 20 with no shortage of challenges ahead. Her inaugural speech focused on five specific areas: transforming economic structures; strengthening the social safety net; addressing social fairness and justice; promoting regional peace, stability and cross-Strait relations; and contributing... MORE

Chinese President and Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping has visited China’s northeastern most province of Heilongjiang. The visit, on May 23–25, included a number of towns along the border with Russia. Xi’s inspection visits are not just a prime photo opportunity. This is his... MORE

The bout of great-power euphoria sparked by the 2014 annexation of Crimea did not last long in Russia. The Kremlin quickly realized the region’s total dependence on mainland Ukraine. Over the past 60 years, heavy capital and labor investments as well as regular water, power... MORE

Although Central Asia as a whole has enough water to promote development, problems in sharing this critical resource among the region’s five post-Soviet republics—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan—are becoming downright severe. According to a new World Bank study, such localized water crises could reduce... MORE

Less than five years have passed since Kazakhstan experienced what may have been its most serious post-independence test of stability to date when, in December 2011, hundreds of people took to the streets in the western town of Zhanaozen, on the Caspian Sea. Clashes with... MORE