By Joldosh Osmonov and Nurshat Ababakirov (4/19/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Given the vibrant opposition’s fervor to limit the President’s power through constitutional reforms, and the President’s stubborn determination to oppose that, the Kyrgyz Constitution appears a victim of the belligerent sides. Both opposition and pro-government parliamentarians ignored the voice of the Constitutional Court, which was to give a permission to consider the amendments, in November and December 2006. As an institution that should be at the center of the constitutional discussions, it remains highly constrained by the interests of some politicians and being used as a tool to delay constitutional reforms.

By Erica Marat (4/5/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

This summer the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will conduct joint military exercises called “Peace Mission–2007”. The Russian-led Collective Security Treaty (CSTO) will closely observe the drills. For the first time, the two organizations will act as partners rather than representing overlapping multilateral structures seeking to fight terrorism, extremism, and separatism in Eurasia.

By Kevin Daniel Leahy (4/5/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Chechnya’s new pro-Moscow president cannot be accused of resting on his laurels. Since his elevation to the republic’s top political post last month, Ramzan Kadyrov has scarcely paused to take stock of his meteoric political rise, briefing the media on a whole host of sensitive political topics, spearheading various socio-political initiatives, while reorganizing the presidential structures swiftly and decisively. Many Russian analysts believe that Kadyrov’s appointment undermines the very concept of Russian statehood, with some accusing him of harboring latent separatist inclinations.