The political crisis seems narrowly confined to downtown Chisinau with its state institutions, political party headquarters, and those colleges and lyceums that supply protest demonstrators from time to time. Beyond Chisinau's center, however, the countryside, "the profound Moldova," remains apathetic and seemingly uninterested. There, opinion... MORE

Moldova faces a prolonged political crisis following the April 7 violent devastation of the parliament and presidential buildings by a young mob, after the opposition's loss of the April 5 parliamentary elections (EDM, April 7, 9). The election observation mission, representing the major European institutions,... MORE

Georgia's extra-parliamentary opposition has launched its third attempt since mid-2007 at "regime change" -a post-modern version of the old-fashioned toppling of governments through other than electoral means (EDM, April 10 and the article above). This new campaign finds Georgia's state institutions considerably better prepared to... MORE

Extra-parliamentary opposition groups continue pushing for regime change in Georgia despite the diminishing numbers at their daily rallies in Tbilisi. All of Georgia's television channels are covering the events -including the leaders' dangerously inflammatory rhetoric- in full detail (Rustavi-2 TV, Imedi TV, April 10-13). Predictably... MORE

Opposition groups drew some 60,000 participants (by average estimates) for a rally in Tbilisi on April 9 and threatened to continue rallying on a daily basis. All Georgian television channels covered the advance preparations for the rally, as well as the event itself and the... MORE

Opposition protests against the outcome of Moldova's parliamentary elections triggered the seizure and ransacking of the presidency and parliament buildings by young rioting crowds on April 7 (EDM, April 7). Some 2,530 observers from local NGOs and 620 international observers monitored the elections. The International... MORE

Crowds of young rioters overran, ransacked, and set on fire the presidential and parliament buildings in Moldova's capital Chisinau on April 7. This outbreak may serve to embolden radical groups in Georgia on the eve of their April 9 demonstration, the declared goal of which... MORE

As anticipated (see EDM, March 13, 16) the Communist Party has won Moldova's parliamentary elections on April 5, far outdistancing the parties that ran on anti-communist platforms. On paper at least--and every fourth year in real practice--Moldova is a parliamentary republic. The new parliament will... MORE

Deliveries of Russian natural gas to Balkan countries via Ukraine and Moldova are down by approximately one half, following the April 1 explosion on the transit pipeline in Moldova. The blast is attributed to a landslide that followed days of heavy rain. It crushed the... MORE

Russian expansion into European energy industries stands poised to cross a new threshold with the stealthy acquisition of a large stake in Hungary's privately owned MOL by Russia's Kremlin-controlled Surgut Neftegaz (EDM, April 2,). This move entails a number of bold novelties. First, Surgut's lack... MORE