
Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

Missile Incident in Belarus Represents a ‘New Normal’ for Eastern Europe
On December 29, the Belarusian state media reported that an S-300 surface-to-air missile launched by Ukrainian forces had dropped into Belarus, near the village of Horbakha, about 50 kilometers from the shared border with Ukraine (Belta, December 29, 2022). Later, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense... MORE

Putin’s Lonely Christmas Amid His Hopeless War
It was a striking image for a traditional season of joy and hope: Russian President Vladimir Putin attending the Orthodox Christmas service all alone in one of the Kremlin’s cathedrals. This loneliness stands in contrast with his persistent attempts to show himself actively engaging with... MORE

Russia’s New Foreign Policy Orientation
In the wake of growing isolation due to its aggression against Ukraine, Russia’s foreign policy leadership and brain trust have elaborated a new ideology and self-identification that is meant to guide Moscow’s foreign policy moving forward. This orientation rejects Russia’s post-Petrine identification as a European... MORE

Ukraine Is Not Behind Recent Spate of Fires and Explosions at Russian Civilian Facilities
In the months since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his expanded invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, fires and explosions have occurred at a minimum of 72 military facilities within Russia—including 44 draft offices and 28 bases. A vast number of other fires and explosions... MORE

The Russian Armed Forces on Steroids
Since January 1, the ceiling of military personnel in the Russian Armed Forces has been increased from 1,013,628 to 1,150,628 service members (Kremlin.ru, August 25, 2022), which exceeds the ceiling for 2006–2016 of 1,134,800 people (Kremlin.ru, November 28, 2005). This is the nominal number as... MORE

Azerbaijan Set to Become a Green Energy Supplier to the EU
In December 2022, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary and Romania signed an agreement to build a strategic partnership in the field of green energy development and transmission (President.az, December 17, 2022). According to the document’s text, the four countries plan to work together in developing a 1,195-kilometer... MORE

Will a Turkish Gas Hub Solve Eurasia’s Energy Troubles?
Speaking at the Russian Energy Week held in Moscow in October 2022, President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia hoped to turn Turkey into an energy hub so that Russian gas may be transited to Europe via Turkey. Putin’s proposal surprised Ankara, though Turkish Minister of... MORE

Contrasting Messages Emanating From Belarus
According to human rights watchdog Viasna, as of December 31, 2022, almost 1,450 political prisoners remain locked away in Belarus (Viasna, December 31, 2022). On December 14, 2022, the Belarusian parliament approved the draft of a law that would allow the president to deprive Belarusians... MORE

Iran Looks to Turkmenistan for Energy Needs
With its massive oil and natural gas reserves, Turkmenistan’s economy is heavily dependent on foreign exchange earnings from the export and sale of these resources. Given this, the country’s economic stability is tied to Ashgabat’s foreign policy and cooperation with its neighbors, including those territories... MORE

Could Chechnya’s ‘Dark Horse’ Emerge as Kremlin King-Maker?
Over the past few months, Russia watchers have been sounding the alarm about the domestic ramifications of Moscow’s faltering campaign in Ukraine, which appears to have blossomed into a dense nightmare of unintended consequences. The rise of a new and still rare breed of Russian... MORE