Fledgling Democracies

*Russia upped the ante this week in the stare-down with Georgia by sending additional troops to Abkhazia. Here, the Chicago Tribune has the back story and an analysis of Russia’s geopolitical aims in the conflict.

*Voice of America chats with Depty Asst Sec of State David Merkel, who says that Russia would do well to take a more “hands-off” approach to the former Soviet states.

• On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko urged Russia not to set aside the Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership, a key treaty setting out relations between the two countries. Russia’s parliament suggested voiding the agreement in retaliation for Ukraine’s EU and NATO ambitions. See the EU Business story here.

• Kazakstan, home to 3.3 percent of the world’s oil reserves, announced that its economy’s growth will slow in 2009, to 6 percent or less after seven years with and average growth of 10 percent thanks to the skyrocketing price of oil. A hefty supply of oil will not be enough to ward off the ill effects of the credit crunch, says this Kazinform story.

Steve Breaux, or ‘Super Steve’ as he is referred to on his blog, is an international elections observer for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. He’s been chronicling his adventures surrounding the recent elections in Georgia - the photo above shows a typical rural polling station - and he has some particularly good images and information in his most recent post.

Check out his blog and learn how officials use UV light to thwart fraud, what Georgians do in lieu of absentee voting, and what sorts of refreshments one is typically offered at Georgian polling place.