For nearly a decade, Russia has tried to use the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to make inroads into nearby states that once belonged to the Soviet Union. When the Soviet empire collapsed in 1991, the Moscow-led military bloc emerged from the ensuing turmoil, an alliance designed to serve as a Eurasian NATO of sorts. Yet despite Russia's best efforts, the CSTO has not become the powerful tool Moscow hoped for. Persistent rifts among member states continue to limit the military bloc's effectiveness, and the Kremlin itself has been hesitant to draw the bloc into conflicts abroad. A Dec. 26 summit revealed just how deep the divisions within the CSTO run when members failed, for a second time, to appoint a replacement for outgoing Secretary-General Nikolai Bordyuzha.