Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
KYRGYZ NGOs WARN ABOUT RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROBLEM
This year more and more Kyrgyz mass media outlets and NGOs are urging the Kyrgyz government to address the problem of radioactive waste left after the collapse of the Soviet Union. At the March 23 Eurasian Economic Community meeting in Minsk, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev... MORE
PARTY OF REGIONS BLOCKS PARLIAMENT
Ukraine still has no new cabinet in place, and the parliament elected in March still has not started work either. On July 4 President Viktor Yushchenko described this situation as a “parliamentary crisis.” It took months to form the majority in parliament required by the... MORE
GAZPROM EYES CENTRAL ASIA IN ITS DRIVE TOWARD “GLOBAL MARKET LEADERSHIP”
Russia's natural gas giant Gazprom has plans to expand to Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Iran in pursuit of “global market leadership,” Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller announced at the company's annual shareholders meeting on June 30. Gazprom is exploring hydrocarbon reserves in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN’S PARLIAMENT RATIFIES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH AZERBAIJAN
Kazakhstan’s parliament has ratified a strategic partnership with Azerbaijan that has positive implications for Astana’s future dealings with Western countries promoting security in the Caspian region. On June 23 the Senate (upper chamber) of Kazakhstan’s parliament approved the bill on the ratification of an agreement... MORE
WHAT “HOLY ALLIANCE” DOES PUTIN WANT TO AVOID?
Kidnappings and executions in war-torn Iraq are hardly a novelty, but last month Moscow had its first brush with the problem. On June 3, one Russian diplomat was shot dead and four others kidnapped; on June 19, the Mujahideen Shura Council, a grouping linked to... MORE
GAZPROM’S SEGP PROJECT, ROSUKRENERGO CONFLICT WITH EU PRIORITIES IN HUNGARY
One day before U.S. President George W. Bush’s recent visit to Hungary, that country’s Economics Minister Janos Koka and Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller signed on June 21 non-binding agreement that could open the way for Gazprom’s expansion via Hungary deeper into European Union territory. Hungarian... MORE
GEORGIAN WINE WAR — IS HANGOVER MORE POLITICAL THAN ECONOMIC?
Despite huge losses, Georgian wine merchants continue to suffer the consequences of Moscow’s March 27 ban on imported Georgian wines. Russian authorities claimed to be protecting the Russian consumer market from fake beverages. According to Gennady Onishchenko, Russia’s chief health inspector, more than 1.5 million... MORE
PIPELINE PROJECT CAN DIVERSIFY EUROPE’S GAS SUPPLIES
On June 26 in Vienna, the Energy Ministers of Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Turkey as well as the European Union's Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs signed a Ministerial Statement of commitment to the Nabucco gas pipeline project. According to Piebalgs, the EU regards the planned... MORE
AMENDMENTS TO KAZAKH MEDIA LAW DRAW WESTERN CRITICISM
This year Kazakhstan's Journalists Day was marked by a massive protest rally in Almaty on June 24. The rally was unprecedented in scale and united almost all media outlets regardless their political views. The demonstration was organized by the Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan, the... MORE
RUSSIA’S EVOLVING CHECHNYA STRATEGY: MANAGED NORMALITY
Russia’s current campaign strategy in Chechnya relies on security agencies and the local government to the region as having a normal, controlled security environment. Russian security structures operating in Chechnya continue to find large weapons caches, making much of the attending publicity to show that... MORE