Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
GAS SUPPLIERS’ CARTEL: NOT AN “OPEC,” BUT CARTEL ALL THE SAME
With common trepidation substituting for a common policy, the West is awaiting the Gas-Exporting Countries’ Forum (GECF) meeting on April 9 in Doha, Qatar. It will be the group’s sixth meeting in almost as many years, but it is the first meeting that might result... MORE
RETIRED GENERALS SPICE UP ARMENIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Three retired army generals have added an element of intrigue and uncertainty to political life in Armenia with their separate decisions to stand in the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 12. Two of them resigned from the military for that purpose last month and are... MORE
BAKIYEV TRIES TO SAVE HIS PRESIDENCY BUT OPPOSITION PREVAILS
Yesterday, March 28, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced his willingness to conduct a national referendum to reaffirm his legitimacy and support among the population. He also declared that he had sacked a number of key government representatives, including First Deputy Prime Minister Danoyar Usenov, who... MORE
PUTIN’S ORDER TO CREATE MOUNTAIN TROOPS RESULTS IN COMPETING, HAPHAZARD FORCES
In August 2004 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of two special army mountain brigades in the Northern Caucasus. The Defense Ministry initially promised that the brigades would be operational in 2005, but the deadline has shifted several times. As the Defense Ministry struggled... MORE
WITH LUKASHENKA OUT OF SIGHT, BELARUS OPPOSITION STAGES INDEPENDENCE DAY RALLY
The 89th anniversary of the formation of the Belarusian National Republic was commemorated in Minsk with the largest public anti-government demonstration since last year's Chernobyl march. Although the authorities reacted harshly and at times resorted to violence and arrests, the official response was surprisingly tentative.... MORE
UKRAINE NAMES NEW FOREIGN MINISTER
On March 21 Ukraine’s parliament approved President Viktor Yushchenko’s choice for foreign minister, Arseny Yatsenyuk, 32. The appointment ends a standoff of nearly four months between Yushchenko and the Cabinet of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. The new minister has no experience with diplomatic work, but,... MORE
MOSCOW ASSAILS ESTONIA ON DEPORTATIONS ANNIVERSARY DATE
On March 25 Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania commemorated the mass deportations to Siberia that were carried out on that date in 1949 by Soviet Russian authorities. Some 95,000 people were deported that day from the Baltic states, including more than 20,000 from Estonia alone, a... MORE
AKHMETOV CALLS FOR SYSTEMIC MILITARY REFORM
After years of touting successful military reform under the direction of former defense minister Army-General Mukhtar Altynbayev, Kazakhstan has announced plans to change the command structure of its troops. Daniyal Akhmetov, the current defense minister, plans systemic reform in order to bring Kazakhstan up to... MORE
YUSHCHENKO’S PARTY THREATENED BY DEFECTIONS
On March 21 Anatoliy Kinakh accepted an offer from Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych’s government to become minister of economics. The government is allied to the National Unity (formerly Anti-Crisis) coalition composed of the Party of Regions, Communist, and Socialist parties. Kinakh’s appointment marks a... MORE
A BAD WEEK LEAVES PUTIN WITH ANOTHER 50 TO GO
Russia saw a truly macabre chain of disasters last week. On Saturday, March 17, a Tu-134 missed the runway and crash-landed in Samara, killing six passengers but miraculously not bursting into flames. On Monday, March 19, a gas explosion at the Kuzbass coal mine claimed... MORE