The only real opposition to President Eduard Shevardnadze's Citizens Union of Georgia after last month's vote was Aslan Abashidze's Georgian Revival Party. Next year the two will face off again in the presidential poll.
On the surface at least, constitutional order has been preserved in Armenia in the wake of the October 27 attack on the Yerevan parliament - but tensions with the military continue.
Armenia's president is weak and its prime minister is dead. Whatever follows the attack on the National Assembly, political change is inevitable.
Chechen refugees are trapped in limbo, unable to return to Grozny or leave the country while Russia and Ingushetia prevaricate on reopening the border.
Mutual suspicions between Russia and Georgia have been increased during the Chechnya crisis, erupting into a key issue of forthcoming parliamentary elections.
In crossing the Terek river, Moscow seems to be heading for a full-scale war in Chechnya, and neglecting many of the lessons from its previous defeat.
The chaos in Chechnya is spreading over the border into Georgia as armed gangs turn to kidnap to raise foreign money for weapons.
The abrupt departure of the Azeri president's trusted aide has fueled further speculations about negotiations over Nagorno-Karabakh and other policies of concern to Moscow. Did the advisor jump or was he pushed?
Chechen leader Maskhadov's offer of talks has been rebuffed. Moscow is aiming to settle the "Chechen problem" once and for all.
The Kremlin faces a choice in Chechnya: establish a cordon sanitaire or embark on an all-out blitz on Grozny.
