Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
RUSSIA SET TO EXPAND ECONOMIC PRESENCE IN ARMENIA
Russia looks set to enhance its already strong economic presence in Armenia by capitalizing on Armenian President Robert Kocharian’s apparent desire to secure his political future with the Kremlin’s backing. The two governments have indicated that Russian companies will soon get hold of more chunks... MORE
GEORGIA TO SEND, LITHUANIA TO AUGMENT TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN
High-level Georgian-Lithuanian talks on February 2 in Tbilisi included the issue of deploying a Georgian military unit and civilian specialists to Afghanistan with NATO forces there. Lithuania’s Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas, Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekunas, Chief of Staff Brig.-General Vitalijus Vaiksnoras, and Defense... MORE
PUTIN PLANS TO “STAY THE COURSE” FOR 2008
Russian President Vladimir Putin obviously enjoyed this year’s installment of his annual press conference. Held on February 1, the 2007 session set a new record of three and a half hours and included 69 questions. The crowd of 1,232 journalists was eager to play along,... MORE
PUTIN HOPES HOSTING APEC SUMMIT WILL SPUR DEVELOPMENT AROUND VLADIVOSTOK
The Kremlin has pledged to spend nearly $4 billion in government funding to boost economic growth of Primor region in the Far East, which borders China and the Pacific. The revival plans also affect the local energy sector, including nuclear power facilities. During a surprise... MORE
TRANSNISTRIA’S “GOVERNMENT” SHOWCASES FOREIGN, MINORITY RULE
On January 31 Transnistria “president” Igor Smirnov finished forming the new “government,” which is a reshuffled version of the preceding one. The new government enjoys, at least on paper, more powers than its predecessor, as part of attempts to institutionalize the de facto authorities in... MORE
PUTIN ORDERS FSB TO SAFEGUARD ELECTIONS AND ECONOMIC ASSETS
This week Russian President Vladimir Putin broadened the role of the Federal Security Service (FSB). At the FSB’s annual board meeting on January 31, he instructed the agency to provide security and combat nationalist and extremist ideologies during the upcoming regional and national elections and... MORE
EVEN STEEP PRICE HIKES IN AZERBAIJAN CAN’T UNIFY OPPOSITION
The start of 2007 has brought new opportunities for Azerbaijan’s opposition parties to revive their activism. The decision of the State Tariff Council to increase prices for gasoline, electricity, and other utilities in January has sparked dissatisfaction from large segments of the population, creating an... MORE
CONFIDENTIAL RUSSIA-MOLDOVA BILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS FAIL
From September 2006 until this week, Moscow and Chisinau were engaged in confidential bilateral talks on a political settlement of the Transnistria conflict. This channel operated outside the official, 5 + 2 negotiating framework (which consists of Chisinau, Tiraspol, Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, the European... MORE
KYRGYZ POWER STRUGGLE PROPELS ISABEKOV INTO PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
On January 29 Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev selected a new prime minister, Azim Isabekov. The appointment signified the end of the president’s political union with outgoing prime minister Felix Kulov. Formed following the March 24 Tulip Revolution in 2005, the Bakiyev-Kulov political team lasted for... MORE
PUTIN AWARDS SHAIMIEV A MEDAL INSTEAD OF A TREATY
On January 20, the Russian State Council, which includes regional leaders and President Vladimir Putin, met in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, an autonomous republic in the Volga region. After the meeting Putin decorated Mintimir Shaimiev, the Tatar leader, with a medal “For Service to... MORE