Its leader, Aslan Abashidze, runs an odd and throughly autocratic mini-state, Ajaria, on the Black Sea border with Turkey.

ECONOMIST: Ukraine and Georgia

Sitting on the border between two former Soviet states, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea was once the fourth-largest inland sea in the world.

NPR: Book Takes Wide-Angle View of a Changing Planet

On 29 May, Russia began construction of what is planned to be the largest commercial port on the Baltic Sea at Ust-Luga, adjacent to the Russian-Estonian border.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | Harbinger of Things to Come? Russian Energy Sector Imposes Boycott on Estonia after Getting U.S. Aid