In this issue:

- Top Stories:

1: The Fourth Estate: Certified: This Column Contains No More Than 27% Bad News

2: From the Archives: Russia Meets Its Matriarchs

3: Our Take: End of Discussion

4: Society: The Shadow of the Cross

5: Society: Losing the Faith?

- From the Archive:

* Five years ago: Splitting Up in Confusion

* Ten years ago: Bolshoi Perestroika

- New TOL Special Report: “Kyrgyzstan: Revolutionary Cycles”

A 36-page report featuring eyewitness reports and analysis of ethnic unrest, geographical divisions, and abuse of power in Kyrgyzstan from 2003–2010.

Available now for $36/€25.

1: The Fourth Estate: Certified: This Column Contains No More Than 27% Bad News

A politician continues his crusade against bad practice and bad taste in the Romanian media. His worries are real, but his solution borders on the absurd.

By Marius Dragomir

18 October 2010

2: From the Archives: Russia Meets Its Matriarchs

More than a decade on from its greatest accomplishments, an association of mothers is still accomplishing things in Russia that few other civil society groups can boast of.

By Amy Caiazza

18 October 2010

3: Our Take: End of Discussion

Kyrgyzstan’s elections were peaceful and pluralistic. And they may have taken the country even further from reconciliation.

By TOL

15 October 2010

4: Society: The Shadow of the Cross

Though perhaps not a sign of increasing secularization, the ruckus over the presidential cross in Warsaw did show a more widespread willingness to criticize the church.

By Brian Porter-Szucs

15 October 2010

5: Society: Losing the Faith?

Any conclusions about Polish Catholicism based on this summer’s cross controversy are likely to be as superficial as previous stereotypes about the country and its church.

By Gregory Slysz

15 October 2010

- From the Archive:

* Five years ago: Splitting Up in Confusion

Conflicting signals surround Montenegro’s independence bid.

by Aida Ramusovic

27 October 2005

* Ten years ago: Bolshoi Perestroika

The renovation of Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater is perhaps the institution’s most dramatic and intrigued-filled performance yet.

by Ana Uzelac

9 October 2000

For further information: Transitions Online