September has traditionally been a month of heightened academic and scholarly activity, and September 2025 is no exception. Two of the pieces featured in this issue present diametrically opposed interpretations of what, in the authors’ view, is happening in the Fergana Valley — long described as a “glass of water around which thirst-stricken enemies have gathered.” The materials exploring the underlying causes of conflicts in the South Caucasus — in Georgia and Karabakh — as well as the military-analytical piece on the role of the Russian Orthodox Church, will also be of great interest.