Latest Articles

The Most Important Man in Osh

By Erica MaratUntil recently, 42-year old Melisbek Myrzakhmatov was known as yet another opportunistic politician with the ability become Osh city mayor thanks to his wealth and support of deposed president Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s political party, Ak Zhol. However, as ethnic conflict erupted in Osh and... MORE

Why Is Russia Unhappy with the U.S. Terrorism Report?

By David IberiOn August 5, 2010 the U.S. State Department published its annual Country Reports on Terrorism for 2009. Eight days later, on August 13, the foreign ministry of the Russian Federation issued a statement regarding the U.S terrorism document, with the purpose of showing... MORE

Russia’s Advances Expose Georgia’s Vulnerabilities

By David IberiOn August 11, 2010, Russia announced that it deployed S-300 anti-aircraft missiles on the territory of the occupied Georgian region of Abkhazia. In his statement the commander of the Russian Air Force, Alexander Zelin, said that the powerful missiles were needed to provide... MORE

Is Russia Decoupling South Ossetia and Abkhazia?

By David IberiResponding to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statements during her recent Eastern European tour saying that the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are occupied by Russia and that the occupation should end, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on July... MORE

Russia’s Love-Hate Relationship with America

By Erica MaratThe Galygin television show is perhaps the best popular representation of Russians’ idiosyncratic relationship with the United States. The show copies Seinfeld, the quintessential American sitcom, with its own standup comedy bits sprinkled between the daily lives of Russian versions of Jerry, George,... MORE

Tigipko to be Yanukovych’s Successor as Party of Regions Leader

By Taras Kuzio In an interview in Kyiv’s Segodnya Nestor Shufrych revealed that the gas lobby is financing Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Tigipko as a future leader of the Party of Regions to replace Viktor Yanukovych and Nikolai Azarov. Azarov and Yanukovych have shared leadership... MORE

Mergers and Acquisitions Putin-Style

By Jiri Kominek With the recent Russian-US spy swap that occurred earlier in July fading from headlines, some Russia experts are beginning to speculate on what the ultimate consequences of the scandal may mean for the Russian intelligence community. During his visit to Crimea on... MORE

ICJ’s Kosovo Verdict Weakens Russian Position

By David IberiOn July 22, 2010, the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, issued its advisory opinion on whether the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo on February 17, 2008 was in accordance with international law. The... MORE

Back to a Soviet-Ukrainian National Identity

By Taras Kuzio As predicted in an issue of Eurasia Daily Monitor earlier this week, a new director has been appointed at the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, established by President Viktor Yushchenko in 2005. As has become standard practice, the position was given to... MORE