Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
TRANS-BLACK SEA PIPELINE: ANOTHER CHANCE FOR GEORGIA AND EUROPE
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has proposed that the European Union and Ukraine join a project for a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan via the Caspian Sea, South Caucasus, and Black Sea to Ukraine and EU territory. Tymoshenko termed this concept “White Stream” when presenting it... MORE
GAZPROM MIGHT BUY KYRGYZGAZ IN COMING MONTHS
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev recently announced his intention to privatize the last remaining state enterprises, including major hydropower facilities, Kyrgyzgaz, and Kyrgyz Telecom. All of these enterprises serve nation-wide needs and contain considerable economic potential. However, given that Bakiyev’s new government is comprised mainly of... MORE
ASTANA SHIFTS ACCENT FROM POLITICAL REFORM TO ECONOMIC STABILITY
On January 23, addressing members of the Political Council of the ruling Nur Otan party, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced several key personnel changes. Bakhitzhan Zhumagulov, the deputy chairman of the party, would be replaced by Adilbek Zhaksybekov, head of the presidential administration. Kairat Kelimbetov,... MORE
TAYYIP ERDOGAN: ONE MAN PARTY IN A ONE PARTY STATE?
In recent weeks, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been heavily criticized for focusing almost exclusively on trying to lift the ban preventing women wearing headscarves from attending university and ignoring the growing number of problems facing the country – including a cooling... MORE
RUSSIA REINFORCES RESTRICTIONS ON OSCE/ODIHR AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Vladimir Putin’s handpicked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, is set to become president of Russia without a properly monitored election. Although the March 2 election’s landslide denouement cannot be doubted, Russia is set to demonstrate conclusively that it can force the OSCE out of the election-observation business.... MORE
ROGOZIN TAKES UP NEW PORTFOLIO IN BRUSSELS
This week the outspoken anti-Western nationalist politician Dmitry Rogozin, 44, arrived in Brussels as Russia’s permanent representative to NATO. Rogozin replaces former Border Guard chief General Konstantin Totsky (see EDM, October 31, 2007). In December 2003, Rogozin was elected to the State Duma as leader... MORE
UKRAINIAN MINISTER, MAYOR TRADE ACCUSATIONS OF CORRUPTION
When Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky publicly accused Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko of corruption. Lutsenko denied that allegation and punched Chernovetsky in the face. Chernovetsky sued him, and Kyiv prosecutors launched a criminal case against Lutsenko. In return, police, whose boss is Lutsenko, re-opened an... MORE
TURKEY STILL HANGING ON THE MILITARY’S WORDS AND SILENCES
Even if it doesn’t overshadow Turkey to the extent that it did a decade ago, on January 30 the Turkish military demonstrated that it still has the ability to bring the country to a halt while hanging not just on its words, but even on... MORE
WILL RUSSIA’S NEXT ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN SUCCEED WHERE OTHERS FAILED?
In his January 22 speech to the Civic Forum, a gathering of representatives from Russian non-governmental organizations and other groups sponsored by the Kremlin-appointed Public Chamber, President Vladimir Putin’s likely successor declared that the fight against corruption must become a “national program.” First Deputy Prime... MORE
GEORGIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES ON THE CONFRONTATION PATH AGAIN
On January 29 a dozen opposition parties and three of the six losing presidential candidates issued an ultimatum-like list of 17 demands to Georgian authorities (Civil Georgia, January 29). The declaration is formally addressed to Parliament Chair Nino Burjanadze, because the oppositionists do not recognize... MORE