It is often said that most people have little difficulty living in huts until someone builds a castle nearby; then, the poverty they are experiencing becomes unbearable, and their anger at those in the castle will inevitably grow. That adage certainly holds true for the... MORE

Presidents Joseph Biden of the United States and Vladimir Putin of Russia have agreed, in their December 7 video-dialogue (see EDM, December 8), to create working groups that would address Russia’s concerns regarding Ukraine’s place in the European security order. Those concerns directly relate to... MORE

The stakes were high when Presidents Joseph Biden of the United States and Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation held a two-hour, bilateral video-conference on December 7 (see EDM, December 8). Prior to the virtual summit, pro-Kremlin commentaries in Moscow warned of Russia and the... MORE

A new standoff is maturing around the long-standing issue of privatization of real estate in Georgia’s secessionist region of Abkhazia. On November 8, the “president” of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, stated at an official meeting in the city of Tkvarcheli that citizens of Russia should have... MORE

During the first two weeks of November, ethnic Ossetians and Ingush in the Russian North Caucasus republic of North Ossetia–Alania skirmished on three separate occasions. No casualties were reported, but in the most violent of these incident, two Ingush individuals were hospitalized after a shootout.... MORE

For the past several weeks, much of the world’s attention has been focused on an apparent Russian buildup of forces near the Ukrainian and Belarusian borders, raising fears that Moscow may be preparing for a new aggression against Ukraine this coming winter (see EDM, December... MORE

Presidents Joseph Biden of the United States and Vladimir Putin of Russia held a one-on-one video-conference, on December 7—their fifth direct dialogue (three by telephone, one in person, one by video) in the ten months since Biden took office. The US President initiated both the... MORE

On November 28, Kyrgyzstan held early parliamentary elections, which capped a year of hectic electoral activity—inaugurated with the January presidential vote won by then–prime minister Sadyr Japarov and continued with a nationwide constitutional referendum in April. The latest elections took place within the framework of... MORE

Street clashes in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan region have quieted down at least for the present, but in their wake, geopolitical competition there has, if anything, increased. Russia and China are assuming an ever more active role for at least three reasons: 1) the region’s location on... MORE

In recent months, Turkey and Iran seized an opportunity to try to reduce their long-running multifaceted tensions. Despite geopolitical and security-related frictions, the bilateral relationship is rosier when it comes to business and people-to-people ties. Iran is among the highest sources of tourists to Turkey... MORE