Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
RUSSIAN ECONOMIC BOOM GOES UNNOTICED IN DAVOS
This year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, featured many themes that could have benefited from a Russian perspective. From the "New Mindset for the UN" to "Europe's Identity Crisis" and "A Take on Tehran" to "The Need for Effective Leadership in Addressing Global Risks,"... MORE
MOSCOW, KYIV DISRUPTING NEGOTIATIONS ON TRANSNISTRIA
On January 26-27, negotiations on the Transnistria conflict in the enlarged format of 5+2 (Russia, Ukraine, OSCE, Moldova, and the Tiraspol authorities as full participants, plus the United States and European Union as observers) concluded the third failed round of talks in the three months... MORE
RUSSIA WELCOMES UZBEKISTAN INTO ITS EURASIAN ENERGY EMPIRE
On January 25, at the St. Petersburg summit of the Eurasian Economic Community (EEC), Uzbekistan officially joined this Russia-led integration organization. This decision marked yet another stage in Uzbekistan's geopolitical drift into Russia's fold. But it also underscores the joint interest of Moscow and Tashkent... MORE
U.S., RUSSIAN DEFENSE LEADERS COURT BAKU WITH INCENTIVE OFFERS
Several high-level foreign military dignitaries visited Baku in late January, indicating the start of a new global struggle over Azerbaijan. First came Charles Wald, deputy head of U.S. military forces in Europe, and then Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov followed him to Baku on January... MORE
COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONDEMNS COMMUNISM OVER MOSCOW’S OPPOSITION
Against Russian-led opposition, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) approved by a simple majority of votes on January 25 a report calling for "International Condemnation of the Crimes of Communist Regimes." The move in Strasbourg marks the first time that an inter-governmental... MORE
KYRGYZSTAN ASKS FOR MANIFOLD INCREASE IN U.S. PAYMENTS FOR MANAS
On January 25, Kyrgyz officials announced that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had handed over to the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek a note demanding major revisions to the agreement on the use of Manas air base. Formally, the initiative stems from Kyrgyzstan's parliament and government.... MORE
PUTIN-KOCHARIAN LOVE FEST CONCEALS REAL PROBLEMS
Russia's gas price hike to Armenia, demands for property in return for temporary price relief, supply cuts following the pipeline blasts in the North Caucasus, unilateral Russian announcements about adding weaponry to the Russian base in Armenia, and finally three murders of ethnic Armenians within... MORE
MOSCOW PUTS KADYROV’S PRIVATE ARMY UNDER ITS OWN COMMAND
Ramzan Kadyrov is the most powerful figure in Chechnya. Ordinary Chechens are afraid of him and his thugs, the kadyrovtsy. Even the Russian military forces posted in Chechnya do not dare to oppose the kadyrovsty. This fear is so widespread that it has become conventional... MORE
TBILISI TURNS TO TEHRAN TO BRIDGE ENERGY DEFICIT
The Russian-Georgian gas crisis following the January 22 explosion of two gas pipelines in Russian territory (see EDM, January 23) seemed to be resolved by a plan to deliver Russian natural gas through Azerbaijan. But on January 24 Georgian Energy Minister Nika Gilauri reported a... MORE
YUSHCHENKO’S REFERENDUM THREATS RING HOLLOW
President Viktor Yushchenko used the dual anniversary of Ukraine's unification into an independent state in 1919 and his own inauguration in January 2005 to provide concrete suggestions to escape the political crisis resulting from parliament's January 10 vote of no confidence in his government (see... MORE