Siberia is typically perceived as a remote wilderness full of frozen tundra and vast forests. It occupies an area of about 13 million square kilometers, which represents approximately 10% of the earth’s surface. However, its population density is amongst the lowest in the world, at only three people per square kilometer. It is covered with […]
Continue readingThroughout the course of history, Great Powers have foolishly chosen to engage in military adventures in countries of minute strategic importance, only to discover that they cannot so easily extract themselves from the theater of war once they have chosen to intervene. As a case in point, one of history’s most recent examples is the […]
Continue readingThere is finally good news coming out of Dushanbe this year: if all goes well, the capital of Tajikistan will probably get enough power to heat apartments and flats throughout the city, day and night. This marks a considerable improvement from previous winters when state mismanagement of utilities, combined with harsh weather forced severe restrictions […]
Continue readingDani Rodrik, the esteemed Harvard Professor of Economics, recently engaged in a high-profile effort to portray the historic Ergenekon case as a politically motivated plot skillfully contrived by the Turkey’s ruling party, AKP, and its collaborators in the country’s judiciary. At monthly intervals, Mr. Rodrik publicly denounced the thousands of pages of evidence collected by […]
Continue readingWith the beginning of V. Putin’s third term presidency Russia started its new approach towards Central Asian States. Russia’s increased interest was its desire to assert a presence in areas in which Moscow had little involvement during V. Putin’s previous (first and second) presidency periods. Especially Russia has in the last two years showed interest […]
Continue readingMost observers will be forgiven for assuming that the Russian gas industry can be summarized with one word: ‘Gazprom.’ Recently, however, a series of exogenous changes combined with developments inside Russia have caused the picture to become slightly more nuanced. Externally, depressed European demand for natural gas due to the economic recession of 2008-2009, together with […]
Continue readingIn actuality, the parallels are really quite amazing. Both men came from humble backgrounds and ascended to power as virtual unknowns in times of crises. They both sought to refashion their countries’ respective economies, polities, and roles in the international system by means of implementing policies that had seemingly succeeded in the past as well […]
Continue readingrecent changes in the global politics and economy have spurred the world powers to do the utmost in furthering their national goals in-order to seek multiple financial gains. The economic hunger and greed have become the defining characteristics of today’s powerful states as the inclination of international community towards Asia-Pacific is one such example. It […]
Continue readingWhen the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted at the end of 80s and beginning of 90s no one could presage it would remain immune to a final solution over decades. Armenia and Azerbaijan have locked horns over the destiny of the region that was part of Azerbaijan throughout decades, despite the opposing narratives of Armenia suggesting the […]
Continue readingKazan, the capital of the Tatarstan Republic, is one of the most distinctive cities in the Russian Federation. What makes Kazan distinctive is that it is a site of integration, collision, and amalgamation of two worlds and two cultures: Orthodox Russian and Islamic Tatar. In Kazan the tall minarets of mosques stand next to the […]
Continue reading