Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
Council of Europe Convinces Ter-Petrosian To Hold Independent Investigation of Violence in Yerevan
Bowing to Western pressure, Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has formed a supposedly independent body to investigate the deadly clashes in Yerevan that were sparked by his controversial victory in last February’s presidential election. The new inquiry could undermine the Armenian government’s justification for the use... MORE
Another Disaster in the Russian Navy
On November 8 Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov to instigate a full and thorough investigation into a fire on board a nuclear-powered submarine, the latest accident to afflict the Russian navy. Russian officials refused to identify the submarine, but a source... MORE
Turkey Develops Special Relationship with Azerbaijan
On November 5 and 6, after his reelection last month, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev visited Turkey, where he discussed the developments in the Caucasus, relations with Armenia, and deepening cooperation between the two countries.On November 5 he attended a dinner given by his host President... MORE
Azerbaijan’s President Synchronizes Watches with Turkey
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited Turkey on November 5 and 6 as his first official trip abroad since reelection, underscoring the two countries’ special relationship. While traditional, that relationship has evolved substantially during Ilham Aliyev’s presidency and is no longer asymmetrical. As he remarked during... MORE
Yushchenko Uses Security Service Against Former Orange Allies
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) is targeting the president’s former Orange ally, the Yulia Tymoshenko bloc (BYuT), as part of a strategy to undermine Tymoshenko’s popularity ahead of the January 2010 presidential elections. The campaign uses methods similar to those used by former President Leonid... MORE
Medvedev’s Speech Marked by Anti-Americanism and Comfort for the Bureaucracy
The presentation of President Dmitry Medvedev’s address to the Federal Assembly was grand and fascinating beyond the standards set by his predecessor Vladimir Putin, who humbly listened from the audience since, in contrast to the Soviet tradition, there was no presidium of dignitaries. Medvedev chose... MORE
Obama Presidency: a New Era in Turkish-American Relations?
Many Turks joined the worldwide rejoicing over the Democrats’ victory and Barack Obama’s election as the next president of the United States. The Turkish public is sympathetic to Obama’s call for change as they find parallels in his story to Turkey’s experience with the reformist... MORE
Belarus Facing Recession
Since the mid-1990s, Belarus has frequently cited its economic successes: high growth rates (over 10 percent in the first half of 2008), impressive increases in industrial output, and an economy that has managed to thrive even while closely controlled by the state. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka... MORE
Russia Dominates Tajikistan’s Energy Sector
In the new "Great Game" between the West and Russia over the vast energy reserves of Central Asia, Tajikistan has always stood apart, owing to its geographical isolation, degraded economy, and relative lack of hydrocarbon resources. Now the poorest and most isolated of the "Stans"... MORE
Austria’s OMV To Share Key Terminal With Gazprom
On November 5 Austria’s OMV energy company advanced toward a final agreement with Russia’s Gazprom to share the Baumgarten gas terminal near Vienna. That terminal, however, is the designated end point and regional distribution center for the Western-backed Nabucco gas transport project. Sharing Baumgarten with... MORE