Category: Russia and Eurasia

Deirdre Tynan   A US Defense Department Internet initiative is stoking a debate among experts about whether the Pentagon is overreaching.   The $10.1 million Trans Regional Web Initiative (TRWI) aims...

Deirdre Tynan   The US military is preparing for a worst-case scenario in Central Asia. The Pentagon is presently developing plans covering the potential deployment of elite Special Forces to Central...

Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov failed Sunday to set a time frame for the return of Turkmen gas flows to Russia, halted since April after a pipeline blast that...

Maria Antonova and Anna Malpas   President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday gave teeth to his calls for a crackdown on alcoholism, ordering the government to limit the can sizes of...

Deirdre Tynan   The escalating insurgency in northern Afghanistan is threatening American and NATO efforts to develop the Northern Distribution Network (NDN). As the NDN gains greater strategic importance, observers warn...

Paul Rimple   Abkhazia celebrated the first anniversary of Russia’s 2008 recognition of its independence with its borders guarded by Russian soldiers and its seaside resorts packed with Russian tourists. Abkhaz...

Alexei Bayer This year’s accidents and terrorist attacks confirm what has by now become a cliche: August is indeed Russia’s cruelest month. But its original August disaster dates back almost...

One year after Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war over the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia, much of the debate has focused on who was to blame. But...

Konstantin Parshin   Over a month after President Imomali Rahmon introduced legislation that would abolish Russian as a language of "interethnic communication," Tajikistan remains abuzz with hype and fear about the...

US diplomats are steadfastly denying that the American military seeks to return to the Uzbek air base at Karshi-Khanabad.   The head of the US Central Command, Gen. David Petraeus,...

A EurasiaNet Q&A with Presidential Contender Abdullah Abdullah  Interview conducted by Camelia Entekhabi-Fard   Afghans braved Taliban threats and other problems to cast ballots August 20 in the country’s presidential election....

Deirdre Tynan   The American air hub outside Bishkek may have a new name -- the Manas Transit Center -- but its operational capabilities remain largely unchanged. The new lease agreement...

Alisher Khamidov   A recent clash on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is highlighting a simmering social problem found in and around the Fergana Valley’s many isolated enclaves. Public frustration is mounting over...

Sarah Mendelson A dark storm is brewing yet again in Russia's North Caucasus.   For the most part, the world pays little attention to this violent little backwater. That is,...

Molly Corso and Temo Bardzimashvili   War, political instability and economic crisis. Despite it all, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has endured in office. And a year after Georgia’s devastating war with...