Afghan talks widen US-UK rift
Political talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are likely to deepen the rift between the United States, with its preference for building up troop numbers in Afghanistan, and Britain, which sees talk offering a quicker exit opportunity than reliance on guns and bombs. - Gareth Porter (Oct 10, '08)

US standing in Caspian drips away
The standing of the United States in Central Asia is plunging as new geopolitical realities play out following the Georgia-Russia conflict. US efforts to court countries in the key oil pipeline region have been bluntly snubbed as resurgent Moscow is seen instead as key energy ally. Moscow's financial bailout of distant Iceland also sends a message to the steppes.- M K Bhadrakumar (Oct 10, '08)



NATO split over Baltic defense
A serious rift is developing in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization over contingency plans for Baltic states feeling exposed to a rising "Russian threat". European allies fear the maneuver could provoke open confrontation, while the United States wants to avoid another embarrassing strategic loss. (Oct 8, '08)

Who pushed Medvedev?
President Dmitry Medvedev started out by improving the public mood in Russia and invigorated relationships with European leaders. After the adventure in Georgia, however, Moscow got right back to Cold War paranoia and was again frozen out by the West. Yet some in the Kremlin are glowing. - Andreas Umland
(Oct 2, '08)

Oligarchs on opposite sides of cash crisis
The gap between fantasy money and financial reality is weighing on Russia's oligarchs as commodity prices and share values tumble. Not least are those with interests in mineral giants Norilsk Nickel and United Company Rusal, which is currently testing whether Asian investors are willing to buy up a share issue. - John Helmer (Sep 30, '08)

Gazprom, navy in American knight's move
As the United States mocked Russia's display of its deep-sea capabilities, the visit of Russian warships to South America and the Caribbean coinciding with energy giant Gazprom's deals in the area mark a growing presence on the US backyard. - John Helmer (Sep 24, '08)

Iran plays the mediator
"Rogue state" Iran has embarked on a whirlwind of diplomacy across the Caucasus and troubled Central Asia. Tehran's momentum as a "main pillar of regional stability" is partly due to fears that regional tensions could affect its national security interests, and its determination to counter attempts to form a "Caucasus alliance" which would exclude it. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Sep 19, '08)

Gold: Why Asia was spot on
As the carnage on Wall Street intensified, the flight to safety this week started across the Pacific in the gold markets of Sydney and Hong Kong on Tuesday, before the gold price rocketed in the US market on Wednesday morning. Investors trying to spot a gold trend early would have been well served looking at the spot price in Asia, rather than waiting for guidance from New York. - R M Cutler (Sep 18, '08)

IMF grows bold on Tajikistan's billions
The International Monetary Fund has ordered an independent audit of Tajikistan Aluminium Co, the country's leading enterprise that is run by President Emomali Rahmon. That might crimp funds going into the pockets of lawyers in the world's most expensive legal action. - John Helmer (Sep 16, '08)

Russia's $140bn copper prize a political stew
Two companies with no experience in the metal have been awarded Russia's largest unmined copper deposit, Udokan in Siberia. The rest, including likely funding, is obscure, except that the stakes are high at US$140 billion or more, and foreign companies are not invited to the party. - John Helmer (Sep 15, '08)

Moscow eyes Afghanistan in fear
Russia has concerns not only over its relations with the West. As important, Moscow fears a Taliban victory in Afghanistan. This is not so much for the galvanizing effect this would have on regional jihadis, but for the economic mayhem that could be caused in Central Asian states. Moscow's planned military maneuvers with Kazakhstan are a preventative step. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Sep 12, '08)

SPEAKING FREELY
Wrong friends, wrong enemies
Few people in American politics have contributed more to provoking possible military escalation with Russia than United States presidential nominee John McCain. If elected, McCain may further infuriate the Kremlin with his belligerent rhetoric and this would prove a very negative approach to the world's second-largest nuclear power. - Andrei Tsygankov (Sep 12, '08)

Russia and Turkey tango in the Black Sea
Moscow has welcomed Ankara's proposal for a stability and cooperation pact in the Caucasus - the core of Russian thinking lies in the preference for a regional approach that excludes outside powers, that is, the United States. Effectively, the Black Sea is now a Russo-Turkish playpen. Moscow has also thrown a curve ball by seeking to link Iraq and Iran to this emerging pact. - M K Bhadrakumar (Sep 11, '08)

Russian equity flight accelerates
Russia's stock markets, hit hard by declines in world energy and commodity prices and done no favors by the Kremlin's decision to invade Georgia last month, are now declining at an even faster pace. It is time for surviving investors to buckle their seatbelts. - R M Cutler (Sep 10,'08)

SPENGLER
A comedy of areas
If the late, great US stand-up comedian George Carlin were still with us and offering insights on world affairs, he might be mightily amused that two of Washington's beacons of liberty - Georgia and Ukraine - won't even exist in the not-so-distant future. Not everyone is going to make it, Carlin always said, and that goes for desert countries with no food and former Soviet republics where there aren't any babies. (Sep 9,'08)

Azerbaijan at crosswinds of a new cold war
As Azerbaijan's presidential elections near the political direction of the country is more than ever influenced by the United States-Russia power struggle. Baku wants to cultivate military ties with the US, but if it looks to the West, it must be prepared for serious blowback from its powerful neighbors, Iran and Russia. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Sep 8,'08)

US shrinks from arming Georgia
The George W Bush administration has so far resisted making military pledges to embattled ally Georgia, but as the conflict heats up as an election issue, neo-conservative advisors to US presidential candidate John McCain say Georgia should be supplied with advanced weaponry to deter Russia. - Jim Lobe (Sep 8,'08)

BP's Russian defeat a market victory
BP's agreement with its Russian partners over the running of its TNK-BP joint venture marks more than a defeat for the British company and its political chums in Westminster. A footnote to the deal may tell more about BP's tactics and intentions than the company should have allowed to be known. - John Helmer (Sep 5, '08)

China still on-side with Russia
The West is engaged in a premature celebration of the death of the China-Russia relationship following Beijing's perceived lack of support for Moscow's intervention in Georgia. This is a misreading of China's evolution to normal ties with Russia after going though "honeymoon" and "divorce" periods over the past 60 years. It is the West that should be worried about its confrontational policies with Russia. - Yu Bin (Sep 5, '08)

The failure of two empires
The Russian offensive in Georgia has been widely compared to the Soviets' imperial buildup under Joseph Stalin. The reverse is the case: Russia is now more alone, more alienated and hated among the republics of the former Soviet Union than at any time in Soviet and post-Soviet history. Allied with the collapse of the American imperial presence, this equates to an era of global anarchy. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Sep 4, '08)

Russia: A useful enemy in US polls
Both Democratic Senator Barack Obama and Republican Senator John McCain have resorted to Russophobic rhetoric in their race for the White House, seizing on the opportunity provided by the Georgia-Russia crisis. Obama is playing by McCain-devised rules and may yet out-tough his opponent. - Andrei Tsygankov (Sep 3, '08)

Iran courts Russia and the Latin left
The growing rift between the United States and Russia presents Tehran with options. Iran can seek to neutralize United Nations nuclear sanctions and explore strategic cooperation with Russia and Latin America's leftist governments. It can also act as Moscow's junior partner, rallying "rogue" nations in a front against the US. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Sep 3, '08)

Russia remains a Black Sea power
With Russia recognizing the breakaway Georgian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, it gains control over two major Black Sea ports and defeats the United States' plan to make the sea an exclusive "NATO lake". Kazakhstan, an energy powerhouse and a key Central Asian player the US is trying to woo, now firmly backs Moscow, as does Belarus. China, along with its Shanghai Cooperation Organization partners, "understands" Russia's position. - M K Bhadrakumar (Aug 29, '08)

Mr Cheney goes to Georgia
United States Vice President Dick Cheney heads to Georgia next week, most likely to pledge military assistance to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in the wake of Moscow's recognition of two breakaway Georgian states. Cheney will be acutely aware of the possibility of Russia gaining a foothold in the US's traditional turf, the oil-prized Persian Gulf, via Iran. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Aug 29, '08)

COMMENT
Punishing Russia could prove costly
In response to Russia's recognition of independence for Abkhazia and South Ossetia - two nations that have paid in blood for that privilege - the West is chanting "cold war". Moscow's position is, if friendship with the West can only be bought by ignoring pleas from kindred nations, Russia cannot afford such friends. Cold war or not, the time of a politically correct Russia is over. - Mikhail Molchanov (Aug 28, '08)

Turkey has a rough road ahead
Turkey is trying to develop an autonomous foreign policy, including deeper energy ties with Iran, in unprecedented conditions, among them war on its doorstep. Yet its regional Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform will not solve the country's basic economic problems and the outlook cannot be optimistic amid the worldwide downturn. - Robert M Cutler (Aug 27, '08)

Russia sets off alarm bells
The alacrity with which Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree formally recognizing the breakaway Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states has stunned Western leaders. US President George W Bush labeled the action "irresponsible", with Medvedev countering that Russia is "not afraid of a cold war". (Aug 27, '08)

Parliament gives Medvedev a boost
The United States has urged Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to ignore his parliament's call to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgia. Medvedev might be in no hurry to respond: the resolutions give the Kremlin leader a valuable bargaining chip as he negotiates the status of Russian forces in Georgia. (Aug 26, '08)

Let's talk about World War III
Echoing World War 1, the most important elements for World War III are already in place. Russian troops can overwhelm the Georgian military, but would stand no chance against the United States unless Moscow resorted to limited use of nuclear weapons against a few US bases in Europe and aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean. It would be mainly conventional war, spiced with some nuclear mushrooms here and there. The world will not be annihilated - and there is just a chance that it can avoid this scenario altogether. - Nikolai Sokov

Georgia war rooted in US 'self-deceit'
Whether Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili had encouragement from his "buddies in the White House" or not, the deeper roots of the Russia-Georgia war lie in US bureaucratic self-deceit about the objective of expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization up to the borders of a highly suspicious and proud Russia in the context of an old and volatile ethnic conflict. - Gareth Porter (Aug 25, '08)

Go East, Uncle Sam
The Byzantine Empire extended its life by 1,000 years by cleverly balancing its interests with those of its allies and adversaries. Starting with Russia and Iran, the United States has a lot more to gain by playing the same game, rather than by being confrontational, the fault that led to the premature fall of the Roman Empire. - Francesco Sisci (Aug 25, '08)

A really rough stretch for Pax Americana
In a "breathtaking" two weeks of foreign policy failures, Washington has seen bloody attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the possibility of renewed civil war in Iraq and the embarrassment of Russia's invasion of Georgia. In sum, the Pax Americana era, in which the US maintained a monopoly on the use of military force, came to an end. - Jim Lobe (Aug 25, '08)

SPEAKING FREELY
Playing nice with Russia has failed
The US and European Union, believing their policies would promote democracy in Russia, have given Moscow nearly a free ride on the Western economic system in the face of high Russian barriers on imports and increasing exclusion of Western investors. The Georgia invasion indicates that a new realism should guide US and European policy. - Peter Morici (Aug 25, '08)

North Korea wary of Russia's return
Russia's muscle-flexing in Georgia certainly has implications for the former satellite states of the old Soviet Union, but the impact is less clear for northeast Asia, especially North Korea, which the Soviet Union supported with enormous military and economic aid - but where Russia still arouses deep suspicions. - Donald Kirk
(Aug 22, '08)

Syria reaps a Russian reward
After the Russian tanks rolled into Georgia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was the first world leader to visit the Kremlin. Moscow sees a good ally in Assad, a man who realizes that the Russians are back and intends on using this strong reality to advance Syria's interests. Foremost is the peace process with Israel, which, given the events in the Caucasus, the United States might now feel compelled to support. - Sami Moubayed (Aug 22, '08)

Georgia invasion worsens Russian downturn
Russia's stock markets were looking in bad enough shape before the country's invasion of Georgia. The cross-Caucasus intrusion and the range of possible consquences has added ominously to the uncertainty that investors hate. - R M Cutler (Aug 21, '08)

US falters on NATO's failure
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's bluster over stopping Russia in its tracks rings hollow. Russia has drawn a line in the sand and short of destabilizing Europe, there is practically nothing the US can do about it, especially given the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's pussy-footing. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Aug 20, '08)

Kosovo comes back to bite the US
The question of "Who shot whom first?" has been called "irrelevant" by a US official as Washington scrambles to pin blame on Russia for the Georgian conflict. But the US should have known its past support for Kosovo would be cited as an international precedent. (Aug 20, '08)

Hostage Europe blind to Iran energy
The unfolding events in Georgia underline Europe's self-inflicted dependence on Russia for energy supplies. A reduced willingness to blindly follow US policy on Iran would help it break free from Moscow's grip. - Hossein Askari (Aug 20, '08)

Georgian planning flaws led to failure
Georgia made an over-confident assumption of its combat capabilities when it began operations against the breakaway region of South Ossetia and it underestimated the scale of the Russian response. Georgia's first tactical blunder was also its most serious strategic setback. - Richard Giragosian (Aug 19, '08)

THE BEAR'S LAIR
The new cold war era
The redrawing of the political map with Russia's invasion of Georgia signals the onset of a new cold war. The economic consequences that will follow are extensive. They also mean that with will and competence, victory for the West should be much quicker and easier this time round.- Martin Hutchinson (Aug 19, '08)

SPENGLER
Americans play Monopoly, Russians chess
The Americans play chess for career and perceived advantage. Russia is playing for its life, literally, as it has passed the point of no return in terms of fertility - it is a dying population. This demographic predicament stands at the center of Moscow's calculations in "accumulating" the millions of ethnic Russians scattered in its near abroad. After Georgia, Ukraine is next. (Aug 18, '08)

Georgia through Russian eyes
In international opinion, the widespread image of Georgia is that of a democratic country which suffers from authoritarian Russia. A close look at Russian thinking suggests the opposite - Russian leaders do not classify Georgia as a democracy, they see its regime as similar to that in Russia, which is why they are so angry at the Western approach. - Nikolai Sokov (Aug 18, '08)

China seeks Caucasian crisis windfall
The aftershocks of the crisis in Georgia are rocking China. A chill in ties with Russia reflexively prompts Washington to cultivate Beijing. Some signs of it are already there. Similarly, Russia's energy policies will largely depend on the political equations - read missile defense shields - between Moscow and major European capitals. China will be a huge beneficiary if another Berlin Wall were to appear in Moscow's relations with Europe. - M K Bhadrakumar (Aug 18, '08)

Iran gambles over Georgia's crisis
Iran, itself under threat of military action by the United States and or Israel, has remained conspicuously silent over Russia's offensive in Georgia. Tehran shares Moscow's fears over the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the US's plans for anti-missile systems in Eastern Europe. But the Irananians may have blundered by not criticizing Moscow, and the "Iran Six" diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program is now in jeopardy. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Aug 15, '08)

CHAN AKYA
Utterly pointless Europe
The utter pointlessness of Europe's existence was driven home by a combination of political, strategic and economic developments this week. Far from being a counterweight to the United States or a center of power on its own merit, Europe has turned out to be merely a vestigial organ. Russia is right to take advantage of this mess. (Aug 15, '08)

The bear is back
With Georgia left to deal with the might of Russia's military machine on its own, many of the former communist states can be expected to question the benefits of pursuing close diplomatic, economic and military ties with the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. - Richard M Bennett (Aug 15, '08)

Georgian leader's future in doubt
As soon as the crisis in Georgia subsides, President Mikheil Saakashvili faces a bruising political battle over his role in precipitating the events that led to the bloody confrontation with Russia. Central to this will be whether he deliberately overestimated the West's support for his actions. (Aug 14, '08)

An inevitable clash
The conflict in Georgia marks the dangerous intersection of a heedless North Atlantic Treaty Organization policy of expansion into former Soviet Union republics and a timeless Russian mindset that fears invasion. Neither factor is likely to change: the regional situation can only get worse. - Brian M Downing (Aug 14, '08)

Russian halt leaves crucial questions
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's abrupt announcement that the five-day military campaign against Georgia was over has been praised by Western officials but viewed with skepticism in Georgia, where the government claims Russian forces were bombing eastern towns even after Medvedev's ceasefire. (Aug 13, '08)

The end of the post-Cold War era
The United States is carefully cultivating an opinion in Western capitals that Russia is "bullying" Georgia. This will strengthen Washington's case for inducting Georgia into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which will in turn facilitate the deployment of the US missile defense system onto Russia's border. If Moscow remains passive, the Caucasus could become its "bleeding wound". - M K Bhadrakumar (Aug 12, '08)

Russia marks its red lines
The Georgian attack on South Ossetia and the Russian response is the first battle in a new proxy warfare between interests led by the United States and Israel against Russia. Georgia, and ally Washington, appear to have miscalculated very badly. Russia has made it clear it has no intention of ceding its support for South Ossetia or to allow a missile defense system into a neighboring country. - F William Engdahl (Aug 12, '08)

Oil in troubled mountains
The Caucasus conflict underlines the exposed position of oil pipelines from the Caspian Sea that avoid Russia by threading their way through Georgia. Moscow's military moves, supposedly over South Ossetia, indicate its intention to maintain control of these energy links to the West. - Robert M Cutler (Aug 12, '08)

SPENGLER
Putin for US president - more than ever
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's swift and decisive action in Georgia reflects precisely the sort of decisiveness that America requires. For the United States, apart from a bad case of cream pie in the face, it has lost nothing - Georgia never should have been an ally in the first place. (Aug 12, '08)

Russia bids to rid Georgia of its folly
The Georgian push into the breakaway region of South Ossetia was not intended to hold it, but to destroy it, ending secession by liquidating its people. The Russian response has put a halt to that, and then some. If a ceasefire follows soon, Georgians and Russians might be able to agree that the unpopular President Mikheil Saakashvili bears responsibility for the war. This will place the United States and France at severe odds. - John Helmer (Aug 11, '08)

Saakashvili overplays his hand
The strategy of Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili is clear. His only chance of success in his bid to regain control of the Moscow-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia is to globalize the conflict and turn it into a central front of a new struggle between Moscow and the West. However, he appears to have badly miscalculated the West's willingness - and ability - to intervene. (Aug 11, '08)

CHAN AKYA
The anatomy of an Olympic winner
Sporting success is a source of nationalist pride, an avenue for chest thumping or more usually an opportunity to make money. Americans love and respect sportsmen, which is why they consistently produce some of the world's best athletes. Perverse incentives force ex-communist countries to rely on producing the world's best chemists. India doesn't win medals because it simply isn't profitable for individuals to do so. (Aug 7, '08)

Before the prophet, the writer
The life of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the great Russian master of prose and Nobel Prize-winning author, was a victory of literature. It is often forgotten by those who focus on his role in society that he was foremost a writer and that he arrived at his later role as a publicist and prophet by means of his literary strivings. - Peter Vail (Aug 5, '08)

Tajik Aluminum witness 'must appear'
A key witness in a hugely expensive court case centered on Tajikistan Aluminum Plant did not die and become resurrected, but is alive and well, according to his lawyer. Hassan Saduloev must now appear before a judge in London or his evidence will fall away - an appearance the lawyer could not guarantee. - John Helmer (Aug 4, '08)

Ukraine clash threatens oil to Europe
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko's pledge this week to halt the "shadowy privatization" of an oil pipeline threatens to choke off the expansion of oil exports from Azerbaijan and eventually Kazakhstan to Europe. - Robert M Cutler (Aug 1, '08)

China strengthens its role in Kyrgyzstan
China is expanding its role in vastly smaller Kyrgyzstan, helped by a huge trade imbalance, a growing population of Chinese in its Central Asian neighbor, and construction of infrastructure projects. Some even complain the country is becoming a Chinese satellite. - Daniel Allen
  (Jul 31, '08)

Russia takes control of Turkmen gas
Gazprom, Russia's energy leviathan, has signed two major agreements in a new scheme to purchase gas from Turkmenistan. This deals the United States a huge defeat in the race for Caspian gas and strengthens Moscow's hand in setting the price of world gas. - M K Bhadrakumar (Jul 29, '08)

Court casts shadow over Rusal listing
A clash between two of Russia's leading companies has led to a British court ruling that throws doubt on the possibility of United Company Rusal, the world's biggest aluminum producer, listing its shares in Hong Kong. - John Helmer (Jul 23, '08)

Russia is key to North Korea's plight
Whether Kim Jong-il is able to rescue North Korea again from a looming catastrophe depends on his ability to quickly find access to relatively cheap fuel and energy. Russia is already helping, but unless it includes South Korea in oil, gas, railway and exploitation projects, its progress will be limited. - Leonid Petrov (Jul 23, '08)

COMMENT
Wary of China, Russians look West
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made all the right noises during his recent visit to China. But for many Russians back home, China, with its vast potentially expansionist population, is viewed with fear, and they see their natural allies in Europe. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Jul 23, '08)

Russia's energy drive leaves US reeling
President Dmitry Medvedev is pursuing Russia's energy diplomacy with a vengeance. As a former head of Gazprom he is balancing the energy giant's oil export strategy between Europe and Asia-Pacific, and, significantly, has secured the right for Gazprom to handle the entire output of Libya's gas, oil and liquefied natural gas. Medvedev has also revived with Iran the idea of a "gas cartel". Ferocious rivalries over energy security will rock the foundations of overall United States-Russia relations. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Jul 18, '08)

Gas pipeline gigantism
The much-doubted Turkmenistan to China natural gas pipeline, which if completed will be the world's longest and most expensive such link, came closer to reality last week when ground was broken for construction of the Kazakhstan segment, soon after a similar start in Uzbekistan. With work already underway in Turkmenistan, the next stop is Shanghai. - Robert M Cutler (Jul 16, '08)

A war waiting to happen
Washington has invested huge sums of money and effort in support of Georgia's inclusion into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a move that will tighten the alliance's iron ring around Russia. Moscow in return is increasing its military backing of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, risking a a major escalation of tensions between Russia and NATO, in addition to disrupting vital energy corridors. - F William Engdahl (Jul 15, '08)

Caspian pipelines ease Russia's grip
Rising oil prices may be helping to end Russia's near-monopoly on transporting energy resources from the Caspian Sea basin. Kazakhstan is building a 730-kilometer oil pipeline to the eastern Caspian coast for onward transmission to Azerbaijan, whose recent refusal to sell natural gas to Russia's Gazprom looks like a further bid for energy independence. - Robert M Cutler (Jul 7, '08)

THE ROVING EYE
Big Oil's 'secret' out of Iraq's closet
The Iraqi war's worst-kept secret saw daylight this week with a report on the role US government-led advisers played in drawing up contracts for Western oil companies to develop Iraqi oil fields. The big prize is still being pursued, as is the White House's other dream - a US$7.6 billion, 1,600-kilometer pipeline through Afghanistan. - Pepe Escobar (Jul 3, '08)

Test of strength for alliances
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's expansion to encircle Russia with allies and bases is tempered by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which embraces a quarter of the world's population. The Shanghai grouping, led by Moscow and Beijing, has, however, yet to evolve into a political alliance. - Conn Hallinan (Jun 24, '08)

Russia joins the war in Afghanistan
With its profound hindsight into its former performance in Afghanistan, it is strange that Russia is again wading into its southern neighbor by agreeing to supply weapons to the Afghan army in the fight against the Taliban. Moscow is looking at the bigger picture, though. It has put the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on the defensive and sidestepped United States-led (and Chinese) efforts to undercut its influence in Central Asia. - M K Bhadrakumar (Jun 24, '08)

Tajik Aluminum becomes shooting match
Hassan Saduloev, banker and brother-in-law to Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon, may be alive or he may have died after a recent shooting and it was his twin seen at a reception. Alive, he is a key witness in a London court case that has run up costs to his country of more than US$120 million. - John Helmer (Jun 18, '08)

China has an 'old friend' in Medvedev
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's summit in Beijing last month has given Beijing a close look at how he and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will coordinate the Sino-Russian relationship. Despite being dismissed by some as lightweight, Medvedev has what it takes to further cement ties between the world's emerging manufacturing giant (China) and energy superpower (Russia). - Yu Bin (Jun 17, '08)

China stumbles in forging Russia gas deals
China, its demand for energy to fuel its fast-growing economy outpacing its local productive capacity, is handily placed next door to energy-rich Russia. It should be an ideal partnership, but inept negotiating by Beijing is slowing development of a much-needed gas partnershp. - John Helmer(Jun 10, '08)

Medvedev reaches out to China
Beyond the flowery language employed during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to China - his first trip abroad since taking office - there is a disquieting undertone to the emerging "strategic partnership". Moscow's arms sales to Beijing have all but dried up, and there is an impasse in energy cooperation. Medvedev has his work cut out in wooing his giant neighbor. - M K Bhadrakumar (May 28, '08) 

Russian think-tank rattles US
Even before opening its doors, the first Russian think-tank based in the United States has sparked controversy. While the Russian Institute for Democracy and Cooperation says it wants to study US democracy, critics see it as a new propaganda tool for the Kremlin as it sharpens its attacks on the West. (May 28, '08)

BOOK REVIEW
Tell-tale travelers' tales
Russia and Iran in the Great Game by Elena Andreeva
Opinion in Russia today on Iran is divided over whether or not to engage the country. This same division existed in the late 19th century, the era on which the author focuses, using the writings of Russian travelers to Iran. What the lively book lacks is a comparison of what European travelers to Russia felt. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (May 16, '08)

Bait and switch in Russia?
As a loyal and longtime friend, there are suspicions Dmitry Medvedev, who becomes president of Russia on Wednesday, will be a puppet while the outgoing Vladimir Putin continues to pull the strings, perhaps even standing aside early to allow Putin to return to the presidency. (May 7, '08)

 Medvedev sworn in (AFP) 

Energized Iran builds more bridges
In terms of whom it conducts its energy business with, Iran keeps all its options open, and it will not allow itself to be pushed out of the European market as exports are the bridge that will facilitate its all-round integration with the Western world. Tehran's hectic diplomatic activity in this regard has put the "Iran Six" countries dealing with its nuclear dossier on the defensive: none of them wants confrontation with Iran. - M K Bhadrakumar (May 5, '08)

Legal bills leave Tajikistan in the cold
As poverty-stricken Tajikistan emerges from a bitter winter and its hospitals look forward to more regular power supplies, its government is running up a US$100 million bill to a London legal firm. The money may be keeping the lawyers happy, but judges hearing their arguments are less than satisfied. - John Helmer (Apr 29, '08)

China caught in potash crunch
China has found that its market muscle counts for little when it comes to buying the fertilizer essential to maintain its output of rice and other crops. New contract terms more than doubled the price it pays for shipments from Russia, and competition with other consumers is set to intensify. Suppliers, meanwhile, are seeing their share prices soar. - John Helmer (Apr 21, '08)

Iran homes in on the Caspian
With United States and United Nations sanctions escalating the pressures on Iran, particularly in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, Tehran is seeking an outlet for trade and investment in the Caspian region, luring potential partners with lucrative production-sharing agreements. If only the littoral states could agree among themselves. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Apr 16, '08)

BOOK REVIEW
Beyond the statue's cold frown
Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore
The early years of Joseph Stalin make for an exotic tale. Widowed at 22, Stalin's heart turned to socialism and he soon grew into a gangster chief, a four-time political exile and a talented poet. In evocative prose, Montefiore casts new light on a man whose name is a byword for ruthless and dictatorial government and at the same time adds depth and context to a dominant 20th century leader. - Fraser Newham (Apr 11, '08)

The Taliban's shadow hangs over NATO
Following the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit and the meet between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President George W Bush, the Russians say they were "defeated": the US's missile defense shield in Europe and NATO's expansion will go ahead. This is a smokescreen. By Moscow agreeing to the transit of food and non-military cargo and "some types of non-lethal military equipment" across Russia to Afghanistan, Russia now has a role in NATO's operations in Afghanistan. - M K Bhadrakumar (Apr 7, '08)

Russia's WTO hopes on borderline
Russia is nearing the conclusion of a 15-year effort to join the World Trade Organization - perhaps. As talks near their final stages, concerns ranging from timber tariffs to security issues threaten to drag things out even further, in spite of the benefits membership would bring to all parties. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi and Natalia Gold (Apr 7, '08)