Publication

The articles in this issue examine the use of 'Zachistkas' - specialized armed interventions by central authorities - in Dagestan; the likely impact of Turkish membership on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO); government economic assistance in Chechnya; and Kyrgyzstan's foreign policy choices. The field reports from the region cover the release of a key criminal boss in Kyrgyzstan; high-level meetings between Kazakhstan's President Nazarbayev and the Chinese leadership; Georgian investigations into its 2008 war with Russia; and government-opposition relations in Azerbaijan.