Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
DUSHANBE WELCOMES MILITARY AID, BUT WITHOUT DEMOCRATIC STRINGS ATTACHED
Tajikistan's government, committed to the improvement and gradual reform of the armed forces and security services, sent a worrying signal this week by rescinding its experiment with contract servicemen within its army. This may be interpreted in some quarters as a gambit on the part... MORE
AS EUROPE EMBRACES ENERGY CONSERVATION, MOSCOW LOOKS TO ASIA’S GROWING DEMAND
Russia has reiterated plans to diversify its oil and natural gas exports with a growing focus on the Asia-Pacific region. In the near future, the main instrument of the Kremlin's strategy to re-orient hydrocarbon exports from Europe to Asia remains the planned oil pipeline from... MORE
KHRUSHCHEV’S SECRET SPEECH AND PUTIN’S PUBLIC PRAISE
Besides the Olympic headlines, in the last two weeks the Russian media has presented a remarkable variety of comments and reflections on an event that shocked the country 50 years ago. On February 14, 1956, the 20th Communist Party Congress opened in Moscow. It proceeded... MORE
ROSNEFT EXPANDING ITS ROLE IN KAZAKHSTAN
The chairman of Russia's state oil company Rosneft, Sergei Bogdanchikov, has completed a round of discussions in Kazakhstan with Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Baktykozha Izmukhambetov, and the KazMunayGaz state oil and gas company management. During the concluding news conference... MORE
PUTIN IN AZERBAIJAN
Russian President Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to Azerbaijan on February 21-22, presumably to inaugurate the "Year of Russia in Azerbaijan 2006" celebration, following the "Year of Azerbaijan in Russia 2005." While cordial, the atmosphere was far more sober than the love fest of... MORE
MOSCOW STUNG BY GEORGIAN RESOLUTION ON SOUTH OSSETIA
Predictably, Moscow has unleashed a psychological warfare offensive in response to the Georgian Parliament's February 15 resolution on replacing Russia's "peacekeeping" operation in South Ossetia with an international peacekeeping operation (see EDM, February 15). In that resolution's aftermath, Kremlin consultant Gleb Pavlovsky -- speaking on... MORE
PUTIN IN BAKU: CHANGES IN AZERI-RUSSIAN ENERGY RELATIONS ON THE HORIZON
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Baku this week to officially open the "Year of Russia in Azerbaijan" celebration. But it is safe to assume that it was not the issues of cultural exchange between the two former Soviet republics that dominated the agenda during the... MORE
EUROPE HOPES TO REVIVE TRANS-CASPIAN ENERGY PIPELINES
The deputy energy and foreign ministers of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova will meet in Baku February 24-25 to discuss regional cooperation in the field of energy security. Senior energy officials from Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Iran, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United States, and... MORE
TURKMEN GAS PRICE HIKE, DEBT COLLECTION CLAIMS COMPLICATE UKRAINE’S SITUATION
Turkmenistan has taken two steps in quick succession that pose severe problems for Ukraine's gas supplies. Ashgabat will raise the gas price in line with international market trends, and is demanding prompt payment of Ukraine's arrears for past deliveries of Turkmen gas. Missteps by Ukrainian... MORE
MAGOMEDOV OUT AS MOSCOW OPTS FOR NEW LEADERSHIP IN MAKHACHKALA
On February 20 the Kremlin announced the appointment of a new leader for Dagestan. Russian President Vladimir Putin nominated 65-year-old Mukhu Aliev to lead the North Caucasus republic and asked Dagestan's legislature to confirm his choice. All but one of the 102 local lawmakers present... MORE