Foreign

The strategic significance and territorial claims on the region of Abkhazia have meant its citizens have become used to a life lived in geopolitical limbo. Following the 2008 South Ossetia war, however, a small number of small countries began to recognise Abkhazian independence. A tailor thought of a novel way to mark the development, reports Oliver Bullough.

Critical human rights reports from Western agencies have long been the source of consternation among Russian officials. At the end of last month, the Russian Foreign Ministry launched a counterattack, publishing a report highlighting supposed violations in the West. Oliver Bullough was surprised at how readily the document conflated issues of rights and common diplomacy.

Negotiations over the Ukraine's EU Association Agreement were finalised last month, but Yulia Tymoshenko's continued imprisonment prevented the EU from signing off on a deal. Borys Tarasyuk wonders whether the Europeans may have overestimated their leverage in the matter, and whether their approach will turn out to be counterproductive.

The Arab Spring has forced countries to take sides – always a risky business, but in Syria and Libya particularly so, because the possible financial losses if Russia ends up on the wrong side are considerable. Recent Russian decisions have seemed at the very least surprising, but this cannot simply be the result of the rotating Putin/Medvedev carousel, says Inna Lazareva

This Monday marked a year since Belarusians staged a peaceful protest (brutally suppressed) against rigged presidential elections. Although the regime has not been overturned, and the economy has managed to teeter on collapse without fully imploding, it is clear that Belarusian politics are now in a different place, writes Janek Lasocki

Recent Russian protests against a stolen election were on the whole peaceful and well-policed. At similar protests in Minsk in December 2010, the Belarus police over-reacted, resulting in beatings and imprisonment for many of the demonstrators. Strong Russian support for the Lukashenka regime could indicate that future protests in Russia might be less peaceful, if the authorities start feeling threatened, says Yulia Gorbunova

On the eve of an EU-Ukraine summit on December 19, Ukraine’s relations with Brussels are deteriorating. EU officials have warned that the detention of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko is damaging Kiev’s hopes of signing an Association Agreement by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Ukraine is considering relinquishing a 50%-share of its pipelines to Russia for cheaper gas. David Marples looks at the possible political direction Ukraine is headed for in 2012.

Ahead of the Ukraine-EU summit, Europeans are attempting to understand Ukraine (and, more accurately, its current leadership) from a rational point of view. This is where they are going wrong, says Roman Kabachiy

The FBI’s investigation into the sleeper spy ring in the USA was an impressive intelligence operation, producing detailed, irrefutable evidence for the public record. The MI5 investigation into British parliamentary aide Katia Zatuliveter was quite different — superficial, speculative and secretive. Nick Fielding, an expert witness in Zatuliveter’s successful deportation appeal, believes serious questions must now be asked of the agency entrusted with Britain’s national security.

A failed economic model and falling transit subsidies from Russia have propelled the Belarusian economy to the brink. The harsh reality of stopgap sales and emergency loans that awaits will only delay the inevitable, writes David Marples.

Much has been written about the Cameron visit to Moscow and why it apparently failed to do much to improve the chill in relations between Russia and Britain. We are very different, but that does not mean there is no way forward. Some kind of relationship can be developed, but the rules of the game must be re-drawn, explains Poel Karp

David Cameron’s recent visit to Russia was the subject of some snide criticism in the Russian and British press. But this superficial approach misses the main point: the purpose of the visit lay elsewhere and a good day’s work was done by both sides, says Britain’s former ambassador Tony Brenton

David Cameron’s Moscow “reset” resolved few of the fundamental issues afflicting UK-Russian relations. Yet by moving the relationship on beyond politics, the visit proved to be a rather useful one, writes Dmitri Trenin.

The Black Sea republic of Abkhazia has elected its third president since securing effective independence from Georgia in 1993. The tiny country faces economic and social difficulties, in part deriving from its lack of international recognition. But its democratic experience deserves more attention and respect than much of the world seems prepared to give, says George Hewitt in the capital, Sukhum.

News of the English riots and looting was greeted variously in countries around the world. In Russia, many ordinary Russians were shocked and horrified, but there were also some complacent smiles at the “stupidity” of political correctness and multiculturalism, explains Andrei Ostalsky

The disputed region of Abkhazia holds its presidential elections tomorrow. Earlier in the election campaign, Oliver Carroll travelled to Sukhum to speak to the two leading candidates, Alyksandr Ankvab and Sergei Shamba.

Abkhazia has gone to the polls to elect its third president. While the elections may provide an entertaining sideshow, there is little danger of them ever being legitimate or electing a truly independent voice, argues Denis MacShane

The West has got it wrong about on Tymoshenko. More than a simple struggle for power and influence, her trial marks a fundamental confrontation between the modern (Yanukovych) and postmodern (Tymoshenko). In a head-to-head battle, postmodernism is always likely to triumph, writes Dmitry Vydrin.

Ukraine is busy absorbing the news that opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has been arrested under corruption charges. Most analysts consider the process to be politically motivated, and part of a strategy of power consolidation by the ruling Party of the Regions. Dmitri Travin asks if this means that “once-democratic” Ukraine has finally joined her Slavic siblings Belarus and Russia in a retreat to authoritarianism.

Last Sunday, unknown arsonists attempted to torch the apartment of oD author and investigative journalist Aleksey Matsuka in Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine. Despite the seriousness of the crime, the reaction from the police and investigating authorities has been woefully inadequate.