Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
MOSCOW SEEKS TO ACQUIRE RUSSIAN DIAMOND MONOPOLY
As the Russian government moved to take over the country's diamond monopoly, Alrosa, the company simultaneously opted to diversify by acquiring majority stakes in several Siberian oil and gas assets. While Alrosa has been seen as a potential nucleus for a state-owned natural-resources giant, the... MORE
PRESIDENTIAL SUMMIT RE-FREEZES KARABAKH CONFLICT
On February 10-11, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharian met in France in an attempt to break a deadlock in the Karabakh peace process. The talks failed to produce a framework agreement for the resolution of the conflict, disappointing Western observers and... MORE
KREMLIN CALLS ON COMPATRIOTS TO COME BACK TO MOTHER RUSSIA
The Kremlin has set up a commission charged with encouraging the denizens of the former Soviet republics to migrate to Russia. Although Russia is experiencing a severe demographic crisis and needs migrants to sustain its economic development, the government's ambitious repatriation plan appears to be... MORE
MUSAVAT DECIDES TO JOIN NEW AZERBAIJAN PARLIAMENT
After weeks of mutual accusations and growing distrust, the founding members of Azerbaijan's largest opposition coalition Azadliq (Freedom) -- Musavat, Popular Front and the Democratic Party -- have filed for divorce. On February 9 Musavat officially announced its withdrawal from the bloc, due "to the... MORE
UZBEKS APPEAL TO BAKIYEV, CLAIMING ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION
Representatives of the Uzbek community of Jalalabad city have appealed to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, claiming they are the victims of overt discrimination. "Trends to incite dislike of Uzbeks and representatives of other ethnic groups are being developed and spread around among Kyrgyz," according to... MORE
TBILISI CLAIMS TO HAVE THWARTED ATTEMPT ON SAAKASHVILI’S LIFE
A new wave of tension is erupting between Georgia and Russia after Tbilisi announced that on February 2 it had discovered a Russian-made "Igla" portable anti-aircraft missile in Kareli -- the district adjacent to the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone. Georgian authorities suspect that the missile was... MORE
AUTHORITIES REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE INSURGENCY IN NORTH OSSETIA
On February 1 three homemade bombs exploded almost simultaneously in casinos and gambling clubs in the center of Vladikavkaz, the capital of North Ossetia. Two persons were killed and 25 wounded in the blasts. The republican prosecutor's office subsequently initiated criminal proceeding under the "terrorism"... MORE
TAJIKISTAN CONCENTRATES ON NATIONAL GUARD REFORM
Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmonov has declared his intention to raise the combat readiness of the Tajik armed forces in order to address adequately the security threats facing the country. Such familiar language, usually employed for wider political reasons, was utilized in the unusual setting of... MORE
POST-SOVIET SECESSIONISTS HEDGING THEIR BETS ON A “KOSOVO PRECEDENT”
The London meeting of the Contact Group, which launched the negotiations toward defining Kosovo's status (Interfax, February 1, 2), is being assessed by the post-Soviet secessionist leaderships cautiously. They do not seem to assume that the outcome in Kosovo would necessarily set an international precedent... MORE
RUMORS SUGGEST MAJOR RUSSIAN MILITARY REORGANIZATION IMMINENT
Western accounts of Vladimir Putin's Russia have almost wholly ignored the regime's ongoing efforts at defense reform, even though they have been steadily underway for at least two or three years. Indeed, there are numerous signs that reforms are not only continuing but may actually... MORE