Carnegie Moscow Center
The recent terrorist attack in Tatarstan has put an end to the illusion that this Russian region, unlike the North Caucasus, will be able to avoid the radicalization of Islam.
The Russian authorities should understand that the radical Islamists are not bandits but rather religious and political opposition. The Kremlin should work to open dialogue between the Muslim community and the state, as well as the inter-Islamic dialogue between the advocates of traditional Islam and their opponents.
Each of the three previous four-year presidential terms in Russia—two of Vladimir Putin and one Dmitry Medvedev’s—has been marked by a different policy toward the West, and the new Putin’s six-year period opening in 2012 is likely to follow that pattern.
Russia's Muslim community is divided, with much of its clergy fighting over leadership. This divide suits the Kremlin, which has no interest in a unified or strong Muslim minority.
The voting results of the South Ossetian presidential election reflect the maturity of society in this republic.
Twenty years ago, the worst episode of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorny Karabakh occurred near the small town of Khojali, where more than 400 Azerbaijanis fleeing the town were killed by Armenian soldiers or paramilitary fighters.
If Georgian President Saakashvili can leave the scene gracefully when his term ends and allow a more pluralistic politics to emerge in Georgia after him, he will set a good example to the rest of the former Soviet Union, Russia included.
Almost two decades after negotiations began Russia is set to join the World Trade Organization. Russia, the biggest country to enter the WTO since China joined ten years ago, is expected to be confirmed as a member during the ministerial meeting in mid-December.
After two decades of existence, the countries of the South Caucasus face the short-term threat of renewed conflict and the longer-term challenge of avoiding a slide into global irrelevance.
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.