Journalists in Kazakhstan had little reason to celebrate during this year's national "Journalism Day" on June 28. Traditionally a joyous event, this year the festivities were spoiled by recent attempts by officials wanting to silence the press. The rights of journalists to investigate and disseminate... MORE

Major-General Anatoly Kvashnin, Chief of the General Staff, has issued a stinging critique of next year's preliminary defense budget, going so far as to state that the Russian army is underpaid. His attack on the budget is less connected with an honorable defense of the... MORE

On the eve of the official July 3 launch of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential elections, front-runner Viktor Yushchenko announced three important steps in his campaign strategy. The three-pronged approach will help Yushchenko consolidate a wide-embracing election campaign against his main opponent, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych,... MORE

As the Kremlin prepares to install its latest handpicked president in Chechnya, it faces the prospect of losing control over the North Caucasus entirely. Last week's brazen assault on law-enforcement agencies in Ingushetia caught local police and secret services off guard and revealed the incompetence... MORE

Suffering from two decades of civil war and five years of drought, Afghanistan's infrastructure was in shambles when the United States and coalition forces overthrew the Taliban regime in December 2001. The top national priority was keeping the country united in the face of the... MORE

Russian authorities have revised upwards casualty figures from the June 21-22 attacks by insurgents in Ingushetia. The republic's President Murat Zyazikov told reporters in Ingushetia's capital Magas that 97 people, including 27 civilians, were killed and 105 people, including 38 civilians, were wounded in the... MORE

The critical phase in the political situation of the breakaway region of Abkhazia continues, following the June 9 assassination of Gary Aiba, political secretary of the influential Abkhaz political-public movement "Amtsakhara." Effects of the assassination have resonated widely throughout Abkhazia, significantly undermining the government's already... MORE

Tension has again re-surfaced surrounding the autumn 2000 murder and beheading of Ukrainian opposition journalist Heorhiy Gongadze. On June 17, Hryhoriy Omelchenko, head of the parliamentary committee investigating the murder, announced that his commission had reached a unanimous verdict. The commission concluded that Ukrainian President... MORE

Squeezed uncomfortably between China and Russia, Kazakhstan has always stressed the importance of the so-called "multi-vector" in its relations with its large neighbors. This approach allows Kazakhstan to strike the right balance of interests. During his recent visit to China, Kazakh President Nursulatan Nazarbayev was... MORE

Last week saw an intensification of Russia's diplomacy in strategic Central Asia. On June 17, the leaders of Russia, China, and four Central Asian nations met in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to raise the profile of their security grouping, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This gathering was... MORE