Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
VAN DER LINDEN’S FAREWELL DEAL WITH PUTIN
On January 17 Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) President Rene van der Linden paid a farewell visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. With van der Linden’s term as PACE president expiring today (January 21), Putin invited him as a token... MORE
WILL PUTIN AND THE SILOVIKI MAKE COMMON CAUSE TO LIMIT MEDVEDEV?
With the Central Election Commission set to register First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as a presidential candidate, observers have again been speculating about the future relationship between Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin’s handpicked successor and Russia’s presumed next president, and Putin himself, who has agreed... MORE
TYMOSHENKO AND YUSHCHENKO CLASH OVER BATTLING CORRUPTION
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has made combating corruption and strengthening the rule of law central elements in her government’s policy. She is apparently starting at the highest levels of the government. The issue of the lack of action against corruption led to a physical... MORE
TURKISH MILITARY KEEPS ITS POWDER DRY AS HEADSCARF DEBATE CONTINUES TO RAGE
On January 18, the Turkish Council of State, known as the Danistay, issued a written statement warning the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) not to push ahead with its plans to lift the ban that currently prevents women who wear headscarves from attending university.... MORE
UKRAINE’S TOP THREE LEADERS REQUEST NATO MEMBERSHIP ACTION PLAN
On January 16 Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and Parliament Chairman Arseny Yatsenyuk made public a joint letter to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, declaring Ukraine's readiness to advance to a Membership Action Plan (MAP) with NATO and requesting a... MORE
SERDYUKOV’S AUTHORITY GROWS AT MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
Many observers scoffed when Vladimir Putin appointed Anatoly Serdyukov to head the Ministry of Defense in February 2007, because Serdyukov had no experience in national security. Instead, he was known for heading the Federal Tax Service and monitoring financial flows. But apparently the main reason... MORE
CAN TURKMENISTAN MEET ITS FUTURE GAS EXPORT DEMANDS?
By any measure, 2008 is shaping up to be an extraordinary year for Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov. In power for only 13 months following the sudden death of President Saparmurat “Turkmenbashi” Niyazov on December 21, 2006, Berdimukhamedov has humbled Russia’s mighty Gazprom monopoly in price... MORE
STATEMENTS BY STATE OFFICIALS HIGHLIGHT THE PARADOXES OF TURKISH SECULARISM
Two statements by Turkish state officials have once again highlighted the paradoxes of the Turkish interpretation of secularism. On January 15, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reignited the long smoldering debate over women who cover their heads being prevented from attending university by declaring that... MORE
MOSCOW RESUMES MAY PARADES TO DEMONSTRATE MILITARY STRENGTH
Full-scale, Soviet-style military parades – with displays of tanks and other military hardware – will return to Red Square beginning May 9. The decision to resume this public display of military might was reportedly taken at a January 12 meeting of top Russian military leaders.... MORE
KREMLIN-BACKED SECURITY GROUPING EXERTS GREATER ROLE IN EURASIA
On January 11, Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha announced an initiative to convene a top-level meeting of regional organizations operating in Central Eurasia, including the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEc), the Organization for Security and Cooperation... MORE