This report is about the Republic of Byelarus, a nation that was a former U.S.S.R. member, that is small, ethnically diverse, and now facing the reality of full independence. Includes geographic and demographic information, information on political leaders and institutions, and foreign relations.

This report outlines the reasons as to why Kazakhstan is a political powerhouse within Eurasian politics. Some reasons mentioned are size, resources, and strategic location.

This report summarizes Kyrgyzstan's background history, political, and economic reforms in the late 1990. Kyrgyzstan has progressed the farthest in such reforms among the Central Asian republics.

This report is about the historical facts of Georgia.

This report is on the then newly formed Tajikistan Republic. Information on the geographics, demographics, history, political leaders and institutions, and foreign relations of Tajikistan.

Elections for half of the 252 seats of the upper house of Japan's Diet (parliament) will be held in late July 1992. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) appears unlikely to regain the majority it lost in the previous upper house election in July 1989. It appears that continued, but sometimes difficult, cooperation between the LDP and some of the smaller opposition parties is one likely result of the 1992 election. On the other hand, there is a possibility that significant political changes, such as the formation of a coalition government or even a reorganization of the political parties, could result from an opposition victory. As of early June, there are two large sources of uncertainty regarding the upcoming election: first, the LDP could dissolve the lower house and hold a lower house election on the same day as the upper house election, which would alter all calculations of likely outcomes; and second, political scandals which would probably hit the LDP hardest could be brought to light before the election.

The world has entered the age of the economic triad of Europe, North America, and East Asia. These geo-economic centers comprise the leading industrial regions of the world and increasingly set international trade policy, generate consumer and industry trends, and provide much of the capital and expertise for the rest of the globe. Within these regions, the United States, the European Community (EC), and Japan take the leadership roles.