January 11: Belarus/Russia

Russia resumes sending oil supplies through Belarusian pipelines after a three-day break caused by a squabble between Russia and Belarus over duties and transit fees. Russia also accuses Belarus of illegally siphoning oil. Short-term oil supply disruption to European countries sparks criticism across Europe and raises doubts that Russia will be a reliable provider of energy.

January 21: Armenia

A prominent Turkish-Armenian writer and journalist Hrant Dink is murdered in Istanbul by a Turkish teenager. Dink is known for challenging Turkey’s official version of the 1915 Armenian genocide, which denies the Armenian genocide. Dink was previously prosecuted under the country’s strict law against insulting Turkishness.

January 25: Russia

During his official visit to India, Russian President Vladimir Putin signs several agreements with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Two deals concern the production and joint development of aircraft and fighter plane engines in Russia. Russia also offers to build four new nuclear power plants to meet India’s growing energy needs.

February 14: Turkmenistan

Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is sworn in as Turkmenistan’s new president after winning nearly 90 percent of the vote in the December election. International election observers condemned the election as rigged because only members of the ruling party — the only party in Turkmenistan — were allowed to participate. The new president vows to continue his predecessor’s policies, but also promises to introduce some reforms.

March 3: Russia

After thirteen years of negotiations, Bulgaria, Greece, and Russia sign an agreement to build a pipeline that will transport oil from Russia to Europe, bypassing the busy Bosphorus and Dardenelles Straits. The 178-mile long pipeline will go overland from Bulgaria’s Black Sea port of Burgas to the northern Greek town of Alexandroupolis on the Aegean Sea.

March 27: Latvia/Russia

Latvia and Russia sign a treaty demarcating their border, after sixteen years of disagreements since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Both sides hope that the move will normalize relations between the two countries.

April 3: Ukraine

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko dissolves parliament and calls for a new election after talks with parliamentary leaders fail to resolve a long-running power struggle with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Yushchenko accuses the pro-Russian prime minister of illegally luring lawmakers into his coalition in order to gain the parliamentary majority necessary to overturn presidential vetoes and make changes to the country’s constitution.

April 9: Kazakhstan

The World Bank grants Kazakhstan $126 million to build a second dam on the Aral Sea in an effort to reverse the disappearance of what was once the fourth largest inland body of water. The sea began to shrink after the Soviet Union diverted two rivers feeding the Aral Sea to irrigate cotton fields in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

April 15: Russia

Hundreds of opposition protesters hold a rally at the main square in St. Petersburg, accusing President Vladimir Putin of stifling democracy. After clashing with the police, several protesters are beaten and many arrested, including former world chess champion Gary Kasparov, who leads the opposition movement The Other Russia. A day earlier, a similar protest in Moscow ended in clashes with the police and arrests of the opposition participants.

April 27: Estonia/Russia

Estonia removes a contentious memorial in its capital, Tallinn, dedicated to the Soviet Army during World War II. The removal, which Russia condemns, sparks protests in Tallinn by about a thousand protesters, mostly ethnic Russians. For Estonians, the monument is a reminder of many years of Soviet occupation.

May 8: Russia

Amnesty International issues a report claiming that China and Russia are defying a UN weapons embargo by supplying arms to the Sudanese government for use in Darfur. Both countries deny the accusation.

May 12: Kazakhstan/Russia/Turkmenistan

Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan agree to build a new natural gas pipeline from the Caspian Sea through Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to Russia. The deal is a setback for the United States, the European Union, and China, which hoped to bypass Russia and gain direct access to Turkmenistan’s gas.

May 17 — Russia

The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and the Russian Orthodox Church reunite after an eighty-year schism that followed the Bolshevik Revolution. The agreement, signed by Patriarch Alexy II and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Metropolitan Lavry, is a product of numerous reunification talks since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Some clergy abroad, however, remain skeptical, claiming that many priests in Russia collaborated with the communist regime.

May 18: Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s parliament approves a bill that allows the current president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, to run for office for an unlimited number of terms. Nazarbayev has been in power since 1989.

June 4: Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens to retaliate if the United States deploys its missile defense system in Eastern Europe. Russia rebukes U.S. claims of a potential threat from rogue states, such as Iran and North Korea, and blames the United States for starting a new arms race.

July 10: Russia

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveils his government’s plan to reassert Canada’s claim to sovereignty over Arctic waters. The plan includes building six patrol ships with ice-breaking hulls to make the country’s presence visible in the area. Canadian claims are challenged by Russia, which has sent an exploratory submarine to Arctic waters to find an underwater ridge, a proof that the northern continent is an extension of Russia’s continental territory. The Arctic is thought to be rich in natural resources, including gas, oil, and diamonds. Other countries state that the Arctic waters are international territory.

July 17: Russia

After meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, Polish President Lech Kaczynski reaffirms Poland’s decision to allow parts of a U.S. missile defense system on its territory. Russia, however, is against the project, and threatens that if the United States proceeds, Russia will point its missiles at Europe. Three days earlier, Russia suspended the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), which limits the amount of major conventional weapons deployed between the Atlantic Ocean and the Ural Mountains.

July 19: Russia

Russia expels four British diplomats in retaliation for the expulsion of four Russian diplomats from Britain over the Litvinenko affair. Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent and a naturalized British citizen, was poisoned in London by radioactive polonium-210 in 2006. Russia has repeatedly refused to extradite a suspect in Litvinenko’s murder to Britain.

August 2: Russia

Russia plants its flag on the seabed 14,000 feet below the North Pole, staking claim to a large part of the Arctic territory. Other countries bordering the Arctic — the United States, Canada, Denmark, and Norway — challenge Russia’s claim. According to current laws, countries bordering the Arctic are granted 200-nautical-mile economic zones beyond their land borders.

August 6: Russia

Russia cancels 90 percent of Afghanistan’s $10 billion debt, which dates back to the Soviet period. Russia is Afghanistan’s biggest creditor, mostly for weapons sales. This debt forgiveness gives Afghanistan a significant boost in its struggle towards economic recovery.

August 17: Russia

Russia announces that it has resumed the Cold War practice of sending its strategic bombers on long-range patrol flights far beyond its borders. Russian President Vladimir Putin says the suspension of bomber missions affected Russia’s security, because other countries have not stopped the practice. Recently, the Russian bombers flew near the U.S. Pacific island of Guam and over the North Pole.

September 12: Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin selects Viktor Zubkov, the head of Russia’s financial monitoring service, to be the country’s new prime minister. In the 1990’s, Zubkov served as Putin’s deputy on the St. Petersburg external relations committee. Some analysts expect the new prime minister to be Putin’s successor in next year’s presidential election. Others see Zubkov’s nomination as Putin maneuvering to stay in power.

October 11: Russia

Russia’s election commission bars the opposition group, The Other Russia, led by former world chess champion, Gary Kasparov, from participating in the December 2 parliamentary elections, stating the group is not registered as a political party. The Other Russia calls the decision discriminatory.

October 15: Ukraine

Ukraine’s two pro-democracy Orange Revolution parties, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine-People’s Self Defense, come to an agreement on forming a coalition after their election victory earlier in the month. The two-party coalition gives them a thin majority in the parliament, and Yulia Tymoshenko is expected to be the next prime minister. The election was called early after a long power struggle between President Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

November 15: Georgia/Russia

Russia withdraws the last troops from its base in Batumi, Georgia, which has been a source of tension between the two countries since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, Russia still maintains troops in Georgia’s breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia wants the Russian troops to be replaced with international peacekeeping forces.

November 16: Georgia

Georgia’s government lifts the state of emergency imposed November 7th in the midst of widespread protests. Demonstrators have been calling for President Mikhail Saakashvili to step down, accusing him of corruption, authoritarianism, and failure to address prevalent poverty and unemployment since he came to power four years ago.

December 2: Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party wins a landslide victory of 64 percent in parliamentary elections. Both the opposition and international observers describe the elections as unfair and undemocratic. The Communist Party comes in second with 11 percent of the vote. The country’s liberal opposition groups fail to gain the 7 percent threshold needed and lose all their seats.

December 10: Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly endorses First Deputy Prime Minister and his long-time ally Dmitry Medvedev as his successor. Putin’s support gives Medvedev a strong advantage in the 2008 presidential election. According to the Russian constitution, Putin is not allowed to run for a third term as president; he has agreed, however, to serve as prime minister if Medvedev becomes president.

December 24: Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s president, Islam Karimov, wins a third term in a general election with 88 percent of the vote. Although the Uzbek constitution limits a president to serving two seven-year terms, Karimov does not offer any explanation as to why he is serving a third term. With independent media and political parties banned in Uzbekistan, international observers say the election has failed to meet democratic standards and question the official figure of a 90 percent voter turnout.