Carnegie Moscow Center
Vladimir Putin’s plans to create an economically integrated Eurasian Union could give Russia an opportunity to become a real regional leader, so long as Eurasian economic is voluntary and Moscow’s partners do not see the process as an attempt at political domination.
Poland, a non-eurozone member holding the rotating EU presidency for the first time, faces difficulty pushing ahead its agenda because of the eurozone crisis. The crisis also risks diminishing the successes the Polish presidency has achieved thus far.
On October 31, 2011, the world population reached 7 billion. However, for most of the post-Soviet nations, population levels have been declining.
Twenty years after its independence from the Soviet Union, Belarus faces increasing isolation, possible economic collapse, and the brutal regime of Alexander Lukashenka.
If Kyiv does not reconsider its course on the political trial and verdict of Yulia Tymoshenko, it could mean an end to Ukraine's possibilities of deeper integration with the EU.
Russia is no longer an empire, but it is not yet a nation-state either. To be seen as a great power in the twenty-first century, it has to reform its institutions and economy and become a great country.
The harsh verdict for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko demonstrates that Ukraine’s leadership prioritizes removing the opposition’s strongest candidate before parliamentary elections above good relations with the West.
As a gas-importing country dependent on Russia, Ukraine could strengthen its energy security standing by diversifying its supplies of gas, increasing domestic gas production, and replacing natural gas with other fuels.
Poland’s relatively successful foreign policy contributed to the popularity of the ruling Civic Platform party and helped it win the country’s parliamentary elections. Given these election results, the Polish foreign policy is not likely to change.
Moldova is facing many of the challenges of the post-Soviet space, including corruption, internal conflict, underdevelopment, and labor migration, but it is charting an ambitious path of reform, reconciliation, and European integration.