Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
YEKHURANOV REFERS TO OLIGARCHS AS “NATIONAL BOURGEOISIE”
Once reviled by reformers, Ukraine's wealthy business oligarchs are now being described as a "national bourgeoisie" by top government officials. After much controversy and debate, on October 24 Kryvorizhstal, Ukraine's largest steel mill, was re-privatized in proceedings that were transparent and widely praised. The Ukrainian... MORE
AZERBAIJAN’S ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN: FREER, FAIRER, AWAITING FAIR JUDGMENT
Images of baton-wielding police breaking up unlawful rallies by the radical opposition in a central square of Baku are partly responsible for diverting international attention from Azerbaijan's genuine advances toward holding freer and fairer elections. The other distracting factors include local authorities' uneasy learning process... MORE
THE RUNAWAY TRAWLER AND RUSSIA’S WOUNDED PRIDE
Throughout last week, the Russian public was transfixed by the flight of the trawler Elektron, which defied orders from the Norwegian Coast Guard and fled to Murmansk. This TV "reality show" appeared to have a happy ending, since the crew received a warm welcome and... MORE
YULDASHEV TESTIMONY PLAYED AT ANDIJAN TRIAL
As the trial of Akramiya members entered its fifth week in Tashkent, the court heard testimony from Akram Yuldashev, the "spiritual force" allegedly behind the May uprising in Andijan. The testimony came via an amateurish videotape with poor sound quality that was reportedly made on... MORE
KAZAKH GOVERNMENT UNDER FIRE OVER CHINESE TAKEOVER DEAL
As protests mount, members of the Kazakh government are finding it harder and harder to hide their bitter disappointment over the backdoor-deal between the Canadian-listed PetroKazakhstan and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). For the last few weeks Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov and Minister of... MORE
ALLY CLEARED OF CRIMINAL CHARGE – A TRAP FOR YUSHCHENKO?
The Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office closed a criminal case against former National Security and Defense Council (NRBO) secretary Petro Poroshenko on October 20. This was the only case launched against a member of President Viktor Yushchenko's inner circle following the accusations of corruption against his team... MORE
CONTROVERSIAL ARRESTS SHED LIGHT ON ARMENIA’S MURKY SECURITY SERVICE
Armenia's National Security Service (NSS), the unreformed successor to the local branch of the Soviet KGB, has come under rare media attention after launching dubious criminal proceedings against prominent government critics. The resulting arrests of two businessmen who have alleged high-level corruption within the Armenian... MORE
LAVROV IN TASHKENT: RUSSIA AND UZBEKISTAN SEARCH FOR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently visited Central Asia in a round of intensive diplomacy taking him to Ashgabat and Tashkent. In recent years such missions have been stressful affairs raising issues about Moscow's once dominant influence in the region and the need for improved... MORE
JCC, “PEACEKEEPING” FORMATS IN SOUTH OSSETIA SHOWN TO BE UNTENABLE
An emergency session of the Joint Control Commission (JCC, overseeing the ceasefire in South Ossetia) was held on October 24-25 in Moscow. Convened ostensibly to overcome tensions in the wake of the September 20 demonstration of force by Russian-assisted Ossetian troops, the Moscow meeting merely... MORE
RUSSIA PRESSING FOR EXCLUSIONARY NAVAL GROUPING IN CASPIAN SEA
On October 24, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov briefed President Vladimir Putin on Lavrov's just-completed visit to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In the briefing's televised part, Lavrov reported on his effort to advance Moscow's proposal for a joint naval force of the Caspian Sea... MORE