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

As the People’s Republic of China (PRC) celebrated its first-ever National Security Day, anti-foreigner sentiment appears to have been made an official part of the Chinese state’s increased vigilance. A widely circulated cartoon depicted a stereotyped Western man seducing an unwitting Chinese woman into espionage... MORE

Since 2011, when then-President Dmitry Medvedev fired his and (much more importantly) then–Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, Russian liberals have dreamed of his return to the government. Indeed, liberal groups in Russia believe that Kudrin, seen as an outspoken pro-market reformer, could... MORE

Russian talks with Gulf states, in Doha, Qatar, aimed at freezing oil production and thereby raising prices, broke down on April 17 (RT, April 17). This failure to reach an agreement represents a major setback for Russia’s economy as well as its domestic and foreign... MORE