As Taliban forces are reportedly amassing on Afghanistan's northern borders and the anniversary of the violence in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, approaches, rumors about the opening of a long-awaited Russian military base in northern Tajikistan are resurfacing.
The latest round of negotiations between the Taliban and supporters of Burhanuddin Rabbani ended in deadlock on May 9 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The two sides agreed to continue talks in June, but many observers are skeptical about the potential for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan.
It's a strange sensation when a book written in French and translated into English resonates with the Russian literary tradition. In Chienne De Guerre, as in some of the best Russian literature from Akhmatova to Solzhenitsyn, the writer exposes the nation's suffering.
Crimean Tatars have been the traditional Muslims of the lands of today's Ukraine for six hundred years. Their "Khanat" state lasted for centuries. It is well-known that they had been decimated and deported by Stalin in 1944 and were allowed to return only after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Kovalev: I believe there is no clearly formulated strategic standpoint on this. The role of Russia in politics of the CIS provinces is being dictated by the current situation in those countries, their current state of affairs. That doesn't mean, however, that there are not constant factors influencing Russia's position.
There is a growing understanding in present-day Russia that the upcoming presidential elections will not only ratify a change of the guard an act of routine political succession from the old leader to the new one but also mark a clear watershed dividing the different historical epochs. In their search for an ideological framework for the future, many in Russia are looking to the past.
Moscow's military campaign in Chechnya is a source of friction in Russia's relations with Western European nations The European Union has been critical of the conduct of Russia's assault. On March 20, for example, EU foreign ministers issued a statement that faulted Russia for not establishing an adequate humanitarian aid infrastructure in Chechnya.
Also on March 13, the Russian plenipotentiary human rights representative, Oleg Mironov, acknowledged that Russia's membership was in danger. Although Mironov said the Council of Europe should provide assistance, as well as criticism, he admitted Russia had made policy mistakes, such as prohibiting UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson from visiting Chechnya.
Less than a month away from the scheduled March 26 Russian presidential elections, the world press (Russian media included) tries hard to solve the riddle of Vladimir Putin, Russia's acting president.
