Ukraine’s constitutional debate: finding the way forward

Andreas Umland 26 October 2010
A vital national debate about constitutional reform is under way in Ukraine. But the debate often takes no account of international political discussions or recent scholarly research. Can the new regime embrace this opportunity to lay down the foundations of a democratic future for Ukraine? Andreas Umland throws down the challenge

Georgia at a crossroads: after the post-war

Jonathan Wheatley 22 October 2010
In Tbilisi, memories of the bitter conflict with Russia in August 2008 are fresh, but everywhere too are signs that forces of change are pushing Georgia in new directions. Jonathan Wheatley takes the measure of a fluid political moment.

Get real about ‘enlarging Europe’

Denis Corboy, William Courtney, and Kenneth Yalowitz 21 October 2010
Membership of EU and NATO continues to be a thorny question for the countries of Eastern Europe and for Turkey. Arrangements short of full membership offer economic and security benefits and should be the way forward, contend Denis Corboy, William Courtney and Kenneth Yalowitz

Tajikistan’s marginalised youth

Sophie Roche and John Heathershaw 20 October 2010
Armed conflict has been raging for almost a month in the mountains of the Kamarob gorge between the forces of the Government of Tajikistan and local ‘mujohids’. This is the most serious political violence in Tajikistan for ten years. Here, in the second of a two-part article, Sophie Roche and John Heathershaw draw on ethnographic research and contacts with residents of the region to explain the nature of contemporary ‘Islamic radicalism’ in the area and the possible causes and dynamics of the current violence.

Conflict in Tajikistan – not really about radical Islam

Sophie Roche and John Heathershaw 19 October 2010
For almost a month, an armed conflict has been raging in the mountains of the Kamarob gorge between the forces of the Government of Tajikistan and local ‘mujohids’. This is the most serious political violence in Tajikistan for ten years. Here, in the first of a two-part article, Sophie Roche and John Heathershaw draw on ethnographic research and contacts with residents of the region to explain the legacy of the civil war and the social and political contexts of this largely unreported conflict.

Kyrgyzstan: reform starts with education

Scott Horton and Baktybek Abdrisaev 18 October 2010
Kyrgyzstan could be the first Central Asian parliamentary democracy. But the southern region has first to be reconciled and stabilized. The way forward is to use the well established Kyrgyz traditions of education to teach acceptance of ethnic diversity in schools and universities, explain Scott Horton and Baktybek Abdrisaev.

Georgia's politicians chip away at constitution

Nino Tsagareishvili 15 October 2010
Today, 15 October, the latest amendment to Georgia’s Constitution is being rushed through with indecent haste. It is passing into law without even waiting for the recommendations of the Venice Commission. It weakens parliamentary control over government and fails to enshrine the independence of the judiciary. Yet again Georgian’s leaders are denying their people democratic accountability.

The spectre of multipolar Europe

Mark Leonard 14 October 2010
On Monday, Sarkozy, Merkel and Medvedev will sit down to discuss a new European conception of global security. With the current order dysfunctional and inadequate, it is not before time that Russia is included in the discussion, writes Mark Leonard.

Kyrgyz elections: the birth of democracy?

Baktybek Abdrisaev 12 October 2010
Recent parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan were declared free and fair, but Russia and its Central Asian neighbours feel threatened by Kyrgyz democracy. Will the country be able to juggle its relations with them and with China and USA? Baktybek Abdrisaev wonders if President Bakiyev’s dark legacy can be overcome.

The background to Osh: stories of conflict and coexistence

Nick Megoran 11 October 2010
Reporting of the ethnic clashes that took place in the Kyrgyz city of Osh this summer has tended to spotlight the victimhood of either ethnic Kyrgyz or ethnic Uzbeks. This polarisation is but a reflection of competing historical narratives of Osh’s ethnic identity, writes Dr Nick Megoran.

Kyiv’s Next Image Problem

Andreas Umland 6 October 2010
The vivid image of democracy - in colour orange - made many Europeans emotionally attached to the idea of Ukrainian EU membership. That is likely to change, writes Andreas Umland. The country is today facing a dangerous anti-democratic challenge — from the new President’s authoritarian turn on the one hand and from a new right-radical movement on the other.

Lukashenko: Russia’s new Yushchenko?

Mikhail Zakharov 5 October 2010
Fresh from productive confrontation with Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, Dmitry Medvedev has waded into the Belarusian presidential election campaign. Appearing in a videoblog on Sunday, he accused Alexander Lukashenko of hiding behind “external enemies” in an attempt to cling onto power. For all it tells us about worsening relations between Luksahenko and the Kremlin however, Mikhail Zakharov remains unconvinced that this alone will be enough to remove the Belarusian leader.

Russia’s response to the EU’s human rights policy

Eleanor Bindman 1 October 2010
In this second part of her review of the effectiveness of the EU’s human rights policy, Eleanor Bindman looks at the Russian response to this policy since the year 2000. Putin’s presidency was marked by increasing intolerance at being ‘lectured to’ by the EU, while Medvedev’s incumbency has given some slight grounds for hope. Part 2

The EU’s human rights policy in Russia: more than rhetoric?

Eleanor Bindman 30 September 2010
Are the EU’s attempts to promote human rights in Russia capable of going beyond mere rhetoric, asks Eleanor Bindman? Or does the EU’s policy simply pay lip-service to its stated human rights ideals while allowing the Union to pursue other policy objectives which it sees as more important? Part 1

Ukraine: don’t ask who killed Georgiy Gongadze

Alexa Chopivsky 28 September 2010
Gongadze Ten years ago Ukrainian investigative journalist Georgiy Gongadze was murdered. Various officials were named as suspects, one of whom died subsequently in unexplained circumstances. The Yanukovych regime’s clampdown on freedom of speech may mean no satisfactory conclusion will ever be reached, explains Alexa Chopivsky

Tricky business in Abkhazia

Anton Katin 16 September 2010
Since Abkhazia declared its independence from Georgia in 2008, Russian money has been pouring in. But when it comes to doing business there, Russians can find themselves coming badly unstuck, as one investor from the Urals found. Anton Katin reports

North Ossetia suicide bombing kills eighteen

Oliver Scanlan 10 September 2010
A suicide bombing in the restless north caucasian province of North Ossetia kills at least 18 people. A protest in Afghanistan against the proposed burning of Qurans by Florida Pastor Terry Jones leads to bloodshed. Street gangs shut down El Salvador’s public transport for a third day. A suicide attack against Mogadishu airport claims more lives as militant Islamist group Al Shabab tightens its grip on the Somali capital. All this and more, in today’s security update…

A prognosis for Ukraine's ebbing democracy

Alexa Chopivsky 1 September 2010
Six months into office, Yanukovych has moved swiftly to strengthen government. Indications are mounting that his intention is comprehensively to curtail the freedoms won by Ukraine since the fall of communism. But there is reason to hope that civil society may prove robust enough to withstand the pressure

Ukraine's new regime: the first 200 days

Ingo Petz 30 August 2010
Mykola Riabchuk is one of Ukraine’s leading intellectuals. In an interview with Ingo Petz he outlines his views on the failure of the Orange Revolution and the early stages of the Yanukovych presidency

Wanted: Economic Equality to Mend Kyrgyzstan

Balihar Sanghera 27 August 2010
Media reports of disturbances in Kyrgyzstan’s two main cities Bishkek and Osh focused on human rights and ethnicity. However, Balihar Sanghera suggests that the root cause lies in economic inequality.

Regions

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Russia's year of elections

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Privatizatsiya, twenty years on

Russian economy: trying to please people doesn’t help, Dmitry Travin

Privatisation, but no private property, Andrei Zaostrovtsev

Is corruption in Russia's DNA?, Pyotr Filippov

The Russian banking system: between the market and the state, Pavel Usanov

Russia’s crony capitalism: the swing of the pendulum, Vladimir Gelman

Russian reforms, twenty years on. Introduction to the series, Dmitry Travin

Women, tradition and power in the North Caucasus

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The new year in Russia

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Russia's new economy

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Project_ID

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Russia-China

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Russian rights at the crossroads

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Beyond the gastarbeiter: post-Soviet migration

Madeleine Reeves (Manchester University, UK) presents the other side of post-Soviet migration.

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The Russian media

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