Kazakhstan: Astana Finding that Running the OSCE is a Constant Challenge
A EURASIANET VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH VLADIMIR SHKOLNIKOV
The responsibility of running the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe may be having a moderating effect on Kazakhstan, Vladimir Shkolnikov, an expert on the workings of the Vienna-based multilateral organization tells EurasiaNet. For one, officials in Astana are finding that it is not so easy to impose their own political preferences on a group that comprises 56 member states, and which requires consensus to get anything done.

Afghanistan: Does Brazil Hold the Key to Afghan Stabilization?
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY MOHAMMAD ASIF RAHIMI AND M. ASHRAF HAIDARI
The development of Afghanistan’s agricultural sector has been overlooked by the international community, despite the fact that roughly 80 percent of the Afghan population lives in rural areas and scratches out a meager existence from the land. In trying to rectify the existing situation, the international community would do well to look to Brazil for answers.

Georgia and Russia Reopen Border
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY GIORGI LOMSADZE AND TEMO BARDZIMASHVILI
A year and a half after waging war, Georgia and Russia grudgingly reopened their land border on March 1, despite ongoing acrimony over Russia's failure to observe the terms of the two countries' 2008 cease-fire agreement.

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Tajikistan: Ruling Party Rolls in Parliamentary Vote, But Observers Blow Whistle
BY KONSTANTIN PARSHIN
The governing People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan is cruising to victory in the country's parliamentary election with almost 72 percent of the vote, according to a preliminary tally. Western election monitors, however, expressed disappointment with the conduct of the polling, saying that fraud boosted the governing party's winning margin.

Afghanistan: A Sick Infant and a Journalist's Responsibility
A PHOTOGRAPHER'S NOTEBOOK BY ELISSA BOGOS
Sometimes a journalist is faced with something so urgent, she has to put down her camera and offer a helping hand. Confronted with a dying infant, I found this to be the case one day recently, while working on a story at a settlement for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kabul. But in Afghanistan, death is a feature of normal.

Tajikistan: Yak Herders See New Challenges in Post-Communist World
A PHOTOGRAPHER'S NOTEBOOK BY DAVID TRILLING
Orozbek's daughters are making green tea. As my eyes adjust to the darkness inside his family's yurt, the little girls fuss with plastic cauldrons of water around a small tin stove stuffed with yak dung.

Kazakhstan: Astana Defends Record During UN Human Rights Review
BY JOANNA LILLIS
As Kazakhstan chairs the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) this year, its human rights record is coming under scrutiny. Kazakhstani officials, in responding to expressions of concern about some aspects of the country's democratization process, insist they are taking steps to make improvements.

Tajikistan: Parliamentary Elections
BY KONSTANTIN PARSHIN
Tajikistan’s upcoming parliamentary elections on February 28 appear to have little chance of producing a surprise outcome. The governing People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT) is widely expected to retain a dominating legislative majority, as the campaign has been marked by public skepticism and lackluster opposition activity.

Armenia: Parliamentary Vote Deals Blow to Turkish Reconciliation Chances
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN
Armenia is ready to back out before it enters into a binding reconciliation agreement with its long-time foe, Turkey.