Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
THE PRESIDENTIAL VERTICAL ECONOMY AND THE OIL SHOWER
Russian economic policy has never been so entertaining as in recent weeks, particularly in comparison with the dull and monotonous political discourse. Every weekly meeting of the government delivers a new verbal clash of economic titans often sparkling with rich metaphors. Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN PREPARED TO USE FORCE AGAINST “REVOLUTIONARIES”
The authorities in Kazakhstan, reacting carefully and deliberately, are preparing security agencies to use force in the event of revolutionary activity similar to events in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. It is predictable that the regime of President Nursultan Nazarbayev should choose to flex its muscles in... MORE
TENSIONS RISING AHEAD OF KYRGYZ PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
June 17 marked the peak of Kyrgyzstan's counter-revolutionary movement, which is apparently organized by Urmat Baryktabasov, a politician allied with ex-president Askar Akayev. The three months since Akayev's ouster in the March 24 Tulip Revolution have been very intense for Kyrgyzstan. There were two contract... MORE
RUSSIA-BELARUS: THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP
On July 2, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenka was interviewed by Oleg Poptsov of the Russian TV Center, a company that covers nine Russian regions, in a program that lasted for three hours. The interview covered a variety of issues, but the key focus was on... MORE
UKRAINE’S REPUTATION AT STAKE IN GAS TRADE WITH RUSSIA
Interviewed on a Ukrainian television channel on July 1, Gazprom Vice-President Alexander Medvedev stated that the Russian side wants to go ahead with the Russian-Ukrainian-German understandings of 2003-2004 regarding ownership and management of Ukraine's gas transit system (TV Channel 5, July 1). Known informally as... MORE
MOSCOW PREPARES UNFRIENDLY TAKEOVER OF LITHUANIA’S OIL COMPLEX
The Russian government is moving to seize control of Lithuania's largest economic asset, the Mazeikiai oil complex, from the majority-owner Yukos and the Lithuanian state. Moscow seeks to preempt acquisition by international oil companies that have recently shown interest in Mazeikiai. It also seeks to... MORE
BUSINESS-STATE RELATIONS IN RUSSIA: THE HIGH ROAD AND THE LOW ROAD
On June 25 President Vladimir Putin met in St. Petersburg with 12 business leaders from the United States, including the leading executives of Conoco-Philips, Alcoa, Intel, and United Technologies. The next day he met with a dozen corporate leaders from Germany, representing companies such as... MORE
TAJIKISTAN PINS SECURITY HOPES ON RUSSIA AND CIS MEMBERS
Tajikistan, hoping to increase its own national security as cheaply as possible, has made clear its long term dependence upon Russia as well as other CIS member states. The smooth transfer of military property that has denoted the creation of Russia's military base in Dushanbe... MORE
CRIMINAL CHARGES REACH SENIOR LEADERS OF UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION
Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko has publicly announced that he is seeking to strip 16 parliamentary deputies of their immunity from prosecution (Interfax-Ukraine, June 28). All 16 figure in criminal cases that are not connected to the 2004 presidential election. However, Lutsenko added that parties... MORE
RUSSIA CANCELS BORDER TREATY, ASSAILS ESTONIA
On June 27, merely six weeks after signing the border treaty with Estonia, Russia announced that it is revoking its signature, withdrawing from any obligations stipulated in that treaty, and demanding renegotiation from scratch. Those points are contained in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs... MORE