Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
OLIGARCHS WIELD POWER IN UKRAINIAN POLITICS
The leading Ukrainian magazine Korrespondent (June 12) published its annual list of wealthy Ukrainians. The most surprising new information was the estimate of Donetsk oligarch Renat Akhmetov’s wealth. Akhmetov, the head of Systems Capital Management, is worth $31.1 billion, making him the wealthiest person not... MORE
REFLECTIONS ON MANAS
The U.S. Air Force deployment to Manas, which has sparked intermittent controversy in the Kyrgyz Republic, has arguably been misunderstood by policy makers in Bishkek. Colonel Thomas Smith, the commander of the 376th Expeditionary Wing of the U.S. Air Force and the coalition forces at... MORE
TURKISH POLICE DETAIN SENIOR RETIRED GENERALS
Early on the morning of July 1, the Turkish police detained 24 hard-line secularists during a series of raids in Ankara and Istanbul. Those taken into custody included retired General Sener Eruygur, the former commander of the Turkish Gendarmerie; retired General Hursit Tolon, the former... MORE
MEDVEDEV’S SWEET-TALKING NARROWS THE RIFT IN RUSSIA-EU RELATIONS
President Dmitry Medvedev has every reason to consider the Russia-EU summit in Khanty-Mansiisk last week a personal success, judging from how his European partners have praised the friendly atmosphere and very constructive character of the talks. EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security... MORE
POLLING FINDS WELL-OFF YOUNG RUSSIANS THINKING ABOUT EMIGRATION
While Russia’s economy and its citizens’ real incomes have grown significantly over the past eight years (at least in part thanks to soaring world energy prices), Nezavisimaya gazeta recently reported that new research suggests that this increase in economic well-being has not been accompanied by... MORE
GEORGIA LAUNCHES A THREE-TRACK DIPLOMATIC EFFORT ON ABKHAZIA
Georgia has ruled out a confrontational response to Russia’s accelerating seizure of Abkhazia since April 16. Eschewing a military standoff, Tbilisi has devised a political-diplomatic response in expectation of Western support for such an approach. The European Union-Russia summit in Khanty-Mansiisk on June 26 and... MORE
POLL SUGGESTS WEAKENED BUT STABLE SUPPORT FOR AKP
Despite increasing doubts about its longevity, popular support for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) remains firm, according to a recent opinion poll by the A & G research company, which was published in the daily Milliyet (June 30). On June 14 and 15,... MORE
GEORGIA HIGH ON THE EU-RUSSIA SUMMIT AGENDA
The European Union has decided to make an issue of Russia’s assault on Georgia at the EU-Russia summit in Khanty-Mansiisk on June 26 and 27. This decision, and the surge of attention to Georgia within the EU, are unprecedented and were almost forced on the... MORE
TURKMEN FAMILIES RELOCATED FROM BORDER AREA
Since the death of Turkmenistan’s “President for Life,” Turkmenbashi (“father of the Turkmen”) Saparmurat Niyazov of an apparent heart attack on December 21, 2005, his successor, Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov, has dismantled many of the more quixotic and repressive aspects of Niyazov’s extensive “cult of personality. Changes... MORE
WHAT WILL RUSSIA GAIN FROM KAZAKHSTAN’S OSCE CHAIRMANSHIP?
As Kazakhstan’s long-awaited term of chairmanship of the OSCE draws near, Astana is stepping up its multifaceted ties with the West, disregarding the painful reaction of the Kremlin to any westward movement in Central Asia. The signing of the strategic partnership treaty between Nursultan Nazarbayev... MORE