A diminished United Russia;

 Wooing Afghanistan; Sanctions Drive Iranian Rial Downward; A Falling Out with Al-Jazeera; Iran's Newest Energy Partner; A New Cyber-Clampdown

 United Russia under fire;

 Equipment quality, personnel problems plague Russia's military;

Is electromagnetic pulse a real threat to American security? On the heels of recent Republican primary debates, the danger to U.S. electronics and infrastructure posed by a high-altitude nuclear blast suddenly has emerged as a campaign issue. So has concerted opposition to it, with both liberal and conservative skeptics ridiculing the idea as an overblown, even fabricated, distraction. Yet there is ample evidence that the danger is both clear and present.

 Strongarm tactics ahead of parliamentary polls;

 Backing Viktor Bout;

 The FSB's dirty tricks;

 Prokhorov pulls back the curtain on "Just Cause";

 Progress in Politkovskaya Case;