Now that the Russian government has secured a majority stake in Gazprom it has fully opened up the company to foreign investors. While in a strictly legal sense, this means that a foreign company could buy all of...

William Burns is set to become the new US Ambassador to Russia, according to Interfax.  There have been reports that William Burns would be the next Ambassador to Russia since early this year, but I wonder if the...

Welcome to Siberian Light for the latest weekly Carnival of the Revolutions, where we aim to give you a sampling of how democracy is marching forwards (and sometimes backwards) in the world today.  So, without...

There have been some interesting reactions coming out of Moscow after France’s decision this weekend to reject the new EU constitution. President Putin himself, has wisely not shared his own opinion with the world...

The Guardian today reports on the increasing threat that Siberian forest fires are causing to the global environment. Fires in the Siberian forests – the largest in the world and vital to the planet’s health...

Liu Jianchao, a spokesman from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, has reportedly said that China will "seriously consider" sending troops to Kyrgyzstan, RIA Novosti reports today.  The same report though goes...

New Mongolia – blogging from the saddle to provide you with all your nomadic camel riding blogging needs.  Well, perhaps not quite the blogging from the saddle bit.  Or the camels, either.  But...

Last night’s Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev was a spectacular success, despite earlier concerns that dodgy dealings over ticket sales might spoil the event. From my perspective (sitting in London watching it on...

We’re now two days into the reading of the verdict against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and the judge has had to adjourn again.  Khodorkovsky remains in the legal limbo called (by me) "mostly guilty". In...

The trial of Nur-Pashi Kulayev begins today.  Kulayev was the sole surviving member of the group of terrorists that took hostage and killed hundreds of children in a Beslan school last September.  That Kulayev...