Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
BADRI PATARKATSISHVILI DIES IN LONDON
Georgian billionaire and frustrated business king of the country, Badri Patarkatsishvili, died today (February 13) in London of a reported heart attack. Patarkatsishvili had left Georgia on November 3, 2007, after bankrolling political protests against the government and instigating unrest through his fully owned Imedi... MORE
LEV PONOMAREV: RUSSIA HAS FOUR CATEGORIES OF POLITICAL PRISONERS
“The desire of millions of our citizens for individual freedom and social justice is what defines the future of Russia’s political system,” President Vladimir Putin declared in his recent speech to the State Council, laying out Russia’s development strategy through 2020 (see EDM, February 11).... MORE
OIL-HANDLING CAPACITIES GROWING AND AVAILABLE ON GEORGIA’S BLACK SEA COAST
Continuing development of oil terminals on Georgia’s Black Sea coast opens real possibilities for exporting oil from Kazakhstan on the shortest route, directly to European Union territory by sea tankers. The long-planned, EU-supported Odessa (Ukraine)-Brody-Plock-Gdansk (Poland) or Constanta (Romania)-Trieste (Italy) pipeline projects are natural continuation... MORE
ISRAEL’S BARAK IN ANKARA TO TRY TO BOOST DEFENSE TIES
On February 12, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak arrived in Ankara for a two-day visit to try to boost defense ties between the two countries, with the proposed sale of the Ofek (“Horizon”) spy satellite topping the agenda. Defense industry ties between Turkey and Israel... MORE
MOSCOW LOSES BRAZIL SUBMARINE DEAL TO PARIS
In 2007 Russia became the world's second-largest arms exporter, exceeded only by the United States. As Moscow seeks out new markets, it is increasingly eyeing prospects in what Washington regards as its own backyard, Latin America. Moving beyond its long-standing contacts with Cuba to emerging... MORE
DOES MOSCOW BACK ARMENIA’S EMBATTLED LEADERS?
As the outcome of Armenia’s upcoming presidential election looks increasingly unpredictable, Russia is exercising unusual caution in backing a transfer of power from outgoing President Robert Kocharian to his chief lieutenant, Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian. Moscow has only indirectly and timidly endorsed Sarkisian’s presidential bid,... MORE
KARIMOV COURTS MOSCOW AS TASHKENT WEIGHS NEW SECURITY ROLE IN CENTRAL ASIA
Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov made an official visit to Moscow on February 6, responding to an earlier invitation from President Vladimir Putin. This was Karimov’s first trip abroad since his re-election in December 2007. The cordial atmosphere was well publicized and consistent with the continuing... MORE
KURDISH PARTY PRESENTS DEFENSE, WARNS OF CIVIL WAR
On February 11, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DPT) presented its initial defense in the case brought before the Turkish Constitutional Court calling for its closure. In its concluding arguments, the DPT warned that, by regarding the Kurdish issue as one of terrorism and using... MORE
PUTIN WARNS AGAINST “IMMORAL” WESTERN INTERFERENCE IN HIS “STRATEGIC” SPEECH
The fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin was going to deliver a major address last Friday, February 8, had been kept secret until the middle of the week, when regional leaders were urgently summoned to Moscow for an expanded meeting of the State Council, a... MORE
RESEARCHERS STUDY THE “NATURE AND STRUCTURE” OF RUSSIAN CORRUPTION
In his February 8 speech to the State Council laying out Russia’s development strategy for the next 12 years, President Vladimir Putin contrasted his eight years in power favorably with, as he put it, “the chaos, economic ruin, and breakdown of the old system that... MORE