The Four-Day War in Nagorno-Karabakh had a significant impact on the situation in Armenia. The country was shocked out of the political malaise.

Governed by an authoritarian regime Kazakhstan has been making efforts to modernise and has been searching for new development models free of Soviet legacy.

Since gaining its independence Tajikistan has faced severe political, economic and social problems. The last several months has seen a clear increase in their intensity.

For several years Georgia has been experiencing processes which may be interpreted as symptoms of a deepening social and political crisis.

The economic crisis in Russia is affecting the uncompetitive post-Soviet economies which are dependent on Moscow.