NATO in search of a diplomatic "

thaw"

with Russia;

Tentative Russo-Ukrainian energy deal unravels

Plans for military reform on the skids;

Goodbye to Sevastopol?

Kremlin targets "

enemies of the state"

An energy crisis in the making

An energy takeover in the Balkans;

Nostalgia for Uncle Joe

Another Latin American ally for Moscow;

Russian counterintelligence works overtime

Russia's building boom collapses;

A chilly reception for the new "

Solidarity"

Transition in the Russian Orthodox Church;

Backward from privatization

Russia's corrupt military;

Back to business as usual with Europe, NATO

A nuclear sponsor for Chavez;

A spooked NATO slows its push east