Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
MEDVEDEV RESTRUCTURES THE INTERIOR MINISTRY
President Dmitry Medvedev has launched a reorganization of Russia’s Interior Ministry that some observers say raises it in importance above the country’s other “power” agencies and ministries and could presage a stepped-up campaign against the Kremlin’s critics and political opponents under the guise of fighting... MORE
SURPRISING AND CONTRADICTORY OPINIONS ON THE UKRAINIAN STREETS
A number of recent public opinion polls in Ukraine reveal that regional differences toward Russia after the war in Georgia remain a factor but are not as extreme as some media reports present them to be. A poll conducted from 19 to 22 August by... MORE
NAVAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE SOUTH OSSETIAN CRISIS
Last month’s confrontation between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia had a maritime dimension that continues to expand. Russia deployed elements of its Black Sea fleet to Georgia’s coast during its military operations and subsequently sank several Georgian naval vessels in Poti. During the clash... MORE
RUSSIA ASSEMBLES ITS ALLIES AND PONDERS THE CONTENT OF ITS “PRIVILEGED INTERESTS”
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has never amounted to much as an alliance which ties Russia with six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Its summit in Moscow last Friday, however, was perhaps the most important event in the 16 years... MORE
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY’S VISIT TO BAKU RAISES SPECULATIONS
On September 3, US Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Baku as part of his tour to the region of the former Soviet Union. The visit was the first such high-ranking visit by a US official and drew much attention because of the recent events... MORE
ONGOING TRADE CRISIS DEMONSTRATES TURKEY’S LACK OF LEVERAGE AGAINST RUSSIA
On September 8, Kursad Tuzmen, the Turkish Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said that the delays being faced by Turkish exports trying to enter Russia had so far cost the country $500 million. The crisis began in mid-August when trucks and ships carrying Turkish... MORE
CRISIS IN UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is ready to call an early parliamentary election as his party, Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defense (NUNS), withdrew from a coalition with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s Bloc (BYT). According to Ukrainian laws, NUNS has time until September 13 to change its... MORE
RUSSiANS DOUBT OBJECTIVITY OF OFFICIAL MEDIA WHILE SHARING THEIR SENTIMENTS
A national poll conducted by the independent Levada Center over August 15-22 – that is, in the immediate wake of the five-day Russo-Georgian war – found a high degree of anti-Western and particularly anti-American sentiment. A total of 75 percent of the respondents stated that... MORE
BASBUG MAKES HIS MARK
On September 4-5 General Ilker Basbug, the new chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), conducted a two day visit to the predominantly Kurdish southeast of the country, inspecting military units, meeting with selected NGOs in Diyarbakir, and mingling with the local people on the... MORE
CAN NAZARBAYEV HELP KYRGYZSTAN ESCAPE MOSCOW’S PRESSURE?
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s reluctance to support Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia’s independence at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Dushanbe last week has clearly damaged the organization’s internal cohesion, revealing cleavages between its strongest members–Russia and China. But Nazarbayev also gave... MORE