Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
YUSHCHENKO LOSES CABINET LAW TO YANUKOVYCH AND TYMOSHENKO
Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law on the Cabinet of Ministers that strengthens the Cabinet vis-à-vis the president. The law fills in gaps left in the national legislation by the imperfect constitutional reform of 2004-2006, interpreting in the Cabinet’s favor the points dealing with relations... MORE
HUNGARY AND THE NABUCCO PROJECT: TIME TO END THE AMBIGUITY
In its comprehensive package of strategy documents, “Energy Policy for Europe,” just released in Brussels, the European Commission has proposed appointing a European Coordinator for the planned Nabucco gas pipeline, deemed a “critical project” by the EU (Press release, January 10). The pipeline is designed... MORE
NAZARBAYEV APPOINTS CIVILIAN DEFENSE MINISTER
On January 10 Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev took the dramatic step of appointing Kazakhstan’s first civilian defense minister. In general terms the step will be welcomed in the West, as it sends a clear signal that the Kazakh government is interested in increasing civilian control... MORE
KREMLIN LETS ADYGEYA KEEP ITS VIRTUAL AUTONOMY
On December 13, the parliament of Adygeya, a region in the North Caucasus, voted to confirm Aslan Tkhakushinov as president of the republic. According to Russian law, the president of the Russian Federation nominates a candidate for regional leadership posts and the local parliament votes... MORE
PUTIN UPHOLDS NON-EXISTENT RULE OF LAW IN RUSSIA
The main news in Russia at the start of the new year comes, rather unusually, from the courts and law-enforcement agencies. At the top of the list is the arrest of a group of suspects in the murder of Andrei Kozlov, first deputy chairman of... MORE
RUSSIA CHANGES TERMS OF OIL SUPPLY TO BELARUS
On January 12 in Moscow, Prime Ministers Mikhail Fradkov of Russia and Syarhey Sidorski of Belarus inked agreements on oil supplies and transit, eliminating part of Russia’s hidden subsidies to Belarus. By the same token, the agreement seems to preclude actions by Belarus that would... MORE
IS RUSSIA-BELARUS FRIENDSHIP OVER?
On January 12, Belarus and Russia signed an agreement resolving an impasse over oil transit that had led to the closure of the Druzhba pipeline (the main conduit of Russian oil to Europe) for three days. The Belarusian side agreed to pay a tax of... MORE
BRONZE SOLDIER SET TO LEAVE TALLINN AS LAST SOVIET SOLDIER
On Wednesday, January 10, the Estonian parliament adopted in the third and final reading a “Law on the Protection of War Burial Sites,” clearing the way for the long-awaited removal of the monument to the Liberating Soviet Soldier from downtown Tallinn and other obtrusive symbols... MORE
RUSSIA’S ENERGY CONUNDRUM — LONG TERM BENEFIT OR SHORT TERM GAIN?
The recent Belarus-Russian row over oil transit masks a deeper problem. The end consumer, the European Union, is now heavily reliant on Russian energy imports, for better or worse, and is hostage to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hardball tactics with Russia’s neighboring former Soviet republics.... MORE
POLITICAL CHANGES IN TURKMENISTAN OPEN NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
The sudden and unexpected death of Turkmenistan’s President Saparmurat Niyazov (Turkmenbashi) on December 21, 2006, has opened a window of opportunity for both domestic reforms and changes in Turkmenistan’s relations with its neighbors. Azerbaijan, being one of the closest neighbors, could greatly benefit from this... MORE