NATO Expansion
George W. Bush
I'm speaking to you from Europe, where I attended the NATO summit and witnessed the hopeful progress of the continent's youngest democracies. The summit was held in Romania, one of the 10 liberated nations that have joined the ranks of NATO since the end of the Cold War. After decades of tyranny and oppression, today Romania is an important member of an international alliance dedicated to liberty, and it is setting a bold example for other former communist nations that desire to live in peace and freedom.

Analysis: Who "Won" The NATO Summit?
The initial post mortems on this week's NATO's summit in Bucharest are reminiscent of the old fable about a group of blindfolded men trying to identify the elephant in their midst. Touching just the tusks leads to one conclusion, the trunk another, and the tail yet another. As the various delegations issued their final assessments before packing up to leave the Romanian capital on April 4, everybody was claiming victory.

Russia: Election-Season "Hostages" Find Release
Like most Russians, Maksim Reznik knew the March 2 presidential election was sure to end in a landslide victory for Dmitry Medvedev, the anointed successor of outgoing President Vladimir Putin. But the head of the Yabloko opposition party in St. Petersburg had no idea how badly election day would end for him personally.

Russia: Medvedev Election Greeted Coolly Abroad
International reaction to Dmitry Medvedev's election as president has been muted as figures show President Vladimir Putin's protege winning over 70 percent of the vote. Critics have called the result a foregone conclusion, with no viable opposition figures allowed to register their candidacies and Putin's personal choice receiving the lion's share of media coverage.

Russia: Results Show Medvedev Wins Russian Presidency By Large Margin
First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has won a landslide victory in Russia's presidential elections. Central Election Commission Chairman Vladimir Churov said today that after 99.4 percent of all ballots have been counted, Medvedev won more than 70 percent.

Russia: Putinism’s Impact On The Neighbors
President Putin has said Russia could redirect its missiles to target Ukraine if Kyiv joined NATO. According to RFE/RL's guest authors, that kind of talk is representative of an increasingly truculent foreign policy, which goes largely unchallenged by Russia's political elite. Over the past eight years, Russia's repression of its key domestic institutions has been a defining feature of its governance.

British Olympic Athletes Asked Not to Speak on Political Issues
British athletes competing at this year's Olympic Games in China are being asked to sign a contract that includes a pledge not to speak out on political or human rights issues. The British Olympic Association has confirmed the story reported by the London newspaper The Mail on Sunday.

Russia: Gazprom’s Advance Into Europe Continues
Advantage, Russia. Moscow has taken a giant leap toward solidifying its role as Europe's dominant energy supplier by securing two key pipeline deals over the past two weeks. On January 18, Bulgaria signed a deal with Russia's state-controlled natural gas monopoly Gazprom to join its South Stream pipeline project. which would transport gas from Russia deep into the heart of Europe.