Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
Medvedev Promotes Intellectual Economy and Putin Resorts to Soviet Methods
On June 6-7 the Economic Forum in St. Petersburg had a far more somber atmosphere and a greatly reduced entertainment program than last year, when Russia was still portrayed as an "island of stability" in the sea of troubles. The central event was again the... MORE
Planned De-Mining of Turkey’s Border with Syria Referred to Court
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has announced that it will take the de-mining law adopted in parliament on June 3 to the constitutional court. The controversial draft bill was approved by 255 to 91, following a 15-hour long stormy debate, during which some... MORE
Kyrgyz Opposition Unable to Challenge the Regime
As the July 23 presidential election approaches in Kyrgyzstan, the number of contenders is rapidly dwindling. From the original twenty two candidates registered to run for the presidency, the number has now dropped to seven. The list will continue shrinking further, according to Kyrgyz experts,... MORE
Ukrainian Intelligence Promotes Lustration in Ukraine
On May 11 in an interview with Dziennik the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) chief Valentyn Nalyvaychenko, outlined how previously secret documents from 1917-1991 were being released that will reveal details about the "crimes of communism." Nalyvaychenko described the opening of formerly secret documents and plans... MORE
Ramzan Kadyrov Squashes the Idea of an Independent Ichkeria
For the second time in the last three months, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has forced former leaders of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria to admit the error of their earlier ambitions to build an independent Chechen state during Aslan Maskhadov's presidency in front of... MORE
Rights Groups Highlight Continuing Abuses in the North Caucasus
Human Rights Watch, the Memorial Human Rights Center, and Russian Justice Initiative said in a joint statement on June 4 that the number of European Court of Human Rights judgments holding Russia responsible for serious violations of human rights in Chechnya has surpassed 100, but... MORE
Insurgent Violence Returns to Kabardino-Balkaria
Violence appears to be ratcheting up in yet another region of the North Caucasus - Kabardino-Balkaria. The republic's capital, Nalchik, was the scene of a large-scale rebel attack in October 2005 in which 35 law enforcement officers, 12 civilians and 92 rebels were killed, but... MORE
Moscow Struggling to Transform CSTO into a “Russian NATO”
After the war with Georgia last August, Moscow has attempted to transform the Russian-dominated seven-member Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) - a loose alliance that has served mostly as a forum for security consultations - into a military organization that might counterbalance NATO. During the... MORE
German Election-Year Politics Facilitates Russian Take-Over of Opel
With its 25,000 employees, four major production plants in as many German states, generating business for thousands of German suppliers and dealerships, and a traditional iconic status, Opel has become a highly sensitive issue in this election year in Germany. The company is loss-making and... MORE
German Auto Maker Opel Passes from American to Russian Hands
A "friends-of-Putin" consortium is about to acquire the German automobile manufacturer Opel, a subsidiary of the bankrupt U.S. company General Motors. The move is seen as the largest industrial acquisition in Europe by Russian interests since 1991. It marks an advance in the expansion of... MORE