Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
KAZAKHSTAN EXACERBATES “RELIGIOUS THREAT” BY MANEUVERING BETWEEN BEIJING AND WASHINGTON
Following the example set by officials in Astana, leaders of the two main religions in Kazakhstan, Islam and the Russian Orthodox Church, sporadically sound alarm bells to alert the population of the dangers posed by "non-traditional" Western spiritual movements. At the first sitting of the... MORE
CHENEY VISIT SPOTLIGHTS KAZAKHSTAN’S PIVOTAL ROLE
U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney's May 5-6 visit to Astana -- and an overlapping visit by European Union Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs there -- achieved a long-overdue rebalancing of Western policy priorities regarding Kazakhstan and, by implication, the region as a whole. At the joint... MORE
AFTER VILNIUS, PUTIN HAS TO RECONSIDER HIS PROSPECTS
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney used his speech at last week's conference in Vilnius to address Russia in a blunt new tone. Prior to the conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin's advisers had assumed that the maximum extent of U.S. criticism had been set by the... MORE
CHENEY’S VISIT LEAVES ASTANA FACING NEW DILEMMA IN MULTI-VECTOR POLICY
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney praised Kazakhstan as "a good friend and important strategic partner," particularly in fighting international terrorism, as he wrapped up his two-day visit to Kazakhstan on May 6. The trip culminated with the signing of documents to amend the agreement to... MORE
VILNIUS CONFERENCE ON EUROPE’S COMPLETION IN THE EAST
U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney joined the presidents of the three Baltic states, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, and Georgia, as well as other high-level European officials, for a conference on "Common Vision for a Common Neighborhood" on May 3-4 in Vilnius. The common neighborhood... MORE
KREMLIN PONDERS MEANING OF EAST EUROPEAN SUMMIT
The exceptionally harsh criticism of Russia's behavior by the senior Western representatives at this week's Vilnius summit of Eastern European countries has undoubtedly rattled the Kremlin leadership. But the big question that the Moscow policy elite tries to answer is about the true meaning of... MORE
DESPITE INITIAL PROTEST, OPPOSITION LEADERS CHANGE TONE AFTER ALIYEV’S VISIT TO WASHINGTON
Opposition parties in Azerbaijan were not happy with President Ilham Aliyev's invitation to visit the United States and were even hostile about the warm welcome he received from the White House. Referring to the contested presidential election in 2003, opposition parties criticized U.S. President George... MORE
SOVMEN REMAINS PRESIDENT OF ADYGEYA, BUT KREMLIN LOOKS FOR ALTERNATIVES
The political crisis in the North Caucasus republic of Adygeya caused by the surprise resignation of its president, Khasret Sovmen (see EDM, April 6), was resolved on April 17. That day Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the Adygei president in the Kremlin and asked... MORE
RUSSIAN ENERGY PROFITS AID RUSSIAN MILITARY, BUT NOT MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
Although energy and foreign policy issues have dominated reporting from Russia in 2006, there have also been interesting developments in the defense sector. The Putin regime has launched a comprehensive effort to modernize the Russian military, including its defense-industrial sector. Moreover, this effort has included... MORE
TURNING DEMOCRACY INTO A “FRINGE ELEMENT” AND MOLDOVA INTO A RUSSIAN PROTECTORATE
The latest session of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna adds to the indications that officials in Brussels and Washington are returning to the 2002-2004 policy of resolving the Transnistria conflict in a manner that abandons Moldova to Russian domination. That policy entails now, as... MORE