| Change, the watchword of the region of the world formerly dominated by communism, continued in 1997 as societies and governments worked toward democracy and market-driven economies. In Central Asia, Tajikistan's civil war ended. In Central Europe and Eastern Europe, NATO issued invitations to three countries to join Western Europe's transatlantic security alliance. In the region as a whole, human rights improved as reformers began to make progress, especially in Bulgaria and Romania. The unstable situation in Bosnia and other countries of the former Yugoslavia continued to require the attention of international mediators. This year-end package examines some of the major developments and issues of 1997 in RFE/RL's broadcast region. |
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| Albania descended into anarchy in February, after five years of relative stability. The turmoil that followed the collapse of pyramid schemes, in which hundreds of thousands had invested their savings, made it obvious that Albania's post-Communist economic and political progress was far short of what the governing Democratic Party had claimed. |
| From Anarchy To An Uncertain Stability In Albania |
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| Belarus remained politically isolated throughout 1997, largely because of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's authoritarian methods. |
| President's Methods Isolate Belarus |
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| Two years after the Dayton peace agreement came into force, Bosnia-Herzegovina faces problems centering on the role of the international community in implementing the treaty, on domestic political factors, and on economic development. |
| Bosnia Looks Toward Dayton's Third Year |
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| After 45 years of Stalinist totalitarianism and seven years of identity crisis, 1997 was a year of major change for Bulgaria. A spontaneous bloodless revolution took place in the big cities in January, overthrowing the party of the former communists and leading to early parliamentary elections in April. A second major development followed -- comprehensive political, economic and social reform. In fact, 1997 was the first real year of Bulgarian post-communist economic recovery. |
| The Year of Bulgaria's Recovery |
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| After two years of war in Chechnya, 1997 proved to be a year of relative calm in the North Caucasus. The appointment of Avar Ramazan Abdulatipov -- from Dagestan -- as a Russian deputy prime minister reflected Russia's awareness that the entire region remains a tinder-box, but Moscow's policies were nonetheless mostly of an ad hoc nature rather than geared to long-term stabilization. |
| A Year Of Calm Before More Storms In The Caucasus |
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| On the soil of two Central Asian countries, dramatic events took place during 1997, and for another of their neighbors, those events were bad news. |
| Dramatic Events In Central Asia |
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| In early 1997, half a decade after the demise of the USSR, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) appeared to have succeeded in its initial purpose of facilitating a civilized (i.e. non-violent) multiple divorce among the former Soviet republics. But, it has not evolved into a cohesive supra-national organization with clear-cut objectives and policies shared by most, if not all its members, and effective mechanisms for attaining those goals. |
| The CIS -- Half Alive or Half Dead? |
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| As 1997 set in, Bulgaria and Romania seemed to be heading in different directions. Bulgaria was torn apart by political turmoil as the year began. The situation looked far better in Romania, where the November 1996 elections for the first time ushered in a pro-reform team. But as the year draws to a close, the situation in the two countries appears almost to have been reversed. |
| Bulgaria And Romania Reverse Roles |
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| The year 1997 will be remembered as one in which globalisation of the economy ceased to be an abstract theory and took on concrete form, visibly affecting the lives of millions of people. |
| Economic Globalization And Market Volatility Affect Millions |
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| In 1997, the European Union faced two major challenges: cementing its coming Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and preparing for its promised expansion to Central and Eastern Europe. |
| EU Finds Success On EMU, Failure On Expansion Reforms |
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| For the World Bank, 1997 was a year of continued major involvement in assisting the countries in transition in East and Central Europe and Central Asia, but also a year of major changes within the bank itself. |
| World Bank Assists Countries In Transition |
| IMF's Year Begins And Ends In Russia |
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| Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milosevic's candidate Milan Milutinovic holds a comfortable lead in initial returns in the Serbian presidential elections held on December 7. Problems are far from over, however, for the wily Yugoslav leader. |
| Yugoslavia's Milosevic Faces Challenges |
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| The international human rights monitor, Freedom House, says 1997 was a good year for the cause of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. |
| Freedom House Sees Human Rights Gains |
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| The year 1997 was the year in which NATO opened to the East. This process started in May, when the Alliance and Russia set up a special council to facilitate relations. |
| NATO Embraces The East |
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| When international investors fled emerging markets -- including Russia -- after the October global market crash triggered by the Asian crisis, the Russian stock market lost more than 40 percent of its value. The unpredictable situation of the financial markets could serve as a metaphor for most other Russian developments of 1997, particularly political ones. |
| Russian Reforms Suffer a Setback as Year Ends |
Three years ago, the Kremlin sent thousands of army and interior ministry troops into Chechnya, to quell the Caucasus republic's three-year old independence drive. The operation lasted 21 months and ended in humiliating defeat for Moscow. |
| Chechnya-Russia Relations Fail To Improve |
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| In 1997, the Russian Republic of Tatarstan was faced with a variety of enormous challenges. Its priorities were to press on with reforms so as to pull the economy out of crisis, to expand trade links with other Russian regions and foreign countries, and to strengthen the republic's independence and statehood. |
| Tatarstan Faces Challenges |
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| The year 1997 saw a slightly bumpy, but progressive ride, along the information superhighway for most of the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. |
| Former East Bloc Nations Race Along Information Superhighway |
| Information Technology Ticks Toward The Millennium |
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| From Latin America to Africa to the Middle East, the world continued to be plagued by a rash of violent, bloody and largely indiscriminate acts of terrorism in 1997. |
| Fewer Terrorists Strike, But More Viciously |
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| Impelled by the need for political stability in the Transcaucasus as a prerequisite for the anticipated export of Azerbaijan's Caspian oil via Georgia, the international community in 1997 redoubled its efforts to resolve the deadlocked Abkhaz and Karabakh disputes. |
| Transcaucasus - No Resolutions to Abkhaz, Karabakh Disputes |
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| America's foreign policy matured and gained in 1997, holding to a steady and mostly even course but leaving several major challenges unmet to be dealt with in the New Year. |
| U.S. Foreign Policy Holds Steady, But Rocky 1998 Ahead |
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| Bill Clinton began his second term as president of the United States urging bipartisan leadership to accomplish "big things" for the American people, but controversies about his political and personal behavior proved to be a major distraction for the White House all year. |
| Political And Personal Scandals Hounded Clinton |
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