Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
RUSSIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY: STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS
The marking of "Russia Day" on June 12 triggered another round of debate about Russian identity. In his speech to a celebratory concert on Red Square, President Vladimir Putin said he was certain that Russia faces a "shining future" as "a great and flourishing power."... MORE
ETHNIC RUSSIANS IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS FACE DECISION TO EMIGRATE
"The exodus of the ethnic Russians is creating a problem for the whole North Caucasus," Russian President Vladimir Putin told a group of Cossack atamans (chieftains) during a meeting in Rostov-on-Don, the capital of southern Russia. "The exodus of the Russians means a loss of... MORE
RUSSIA TIGHTENS STRANGLEHOLD ON KAZAKHSTAN’S MINING INDUSTRY
One of the uneasy topics discussed during Nursultan Nazarbayev's May meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Chelyabinsk, but overshadowed by other issues, was the long-standing row between Russia's Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Combine (MMK) and the Sokolov Sarybay State Industrial Corporation. Sokolov Sarybay is the largest... MORE
AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT FINALLY INVITED TO WASHINGTON
On June 7, Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov made a sensational announcement. According to him, President Ilham Aliev plans an official visit to the United States, and Azerbaijan's ambassador to Washington, Hafiz Pashayev, is in talks to determine the date of the visit. The news,... MORE
RUSSIA AND CHINA BAND TOGETHER TO OPPOSE U.S. IN SPACE
Russia and China have combined to pressure the United Nations Disarmament Conference, the UN's main disarmament body, to open immediate talks on how to prevent an arms race in outer space. The move, an apparent strategic partnership, is understood to be anti-Washington, due to known... MORE
WASHINGTON CONCERNED UKRAINE MAY NOT JOIN WTO THIS YEAR
During President Viktor Yushchenko's April visit to Washington, he enumerated three goals to be achieved this year: joining the WTO, lifting the Jackson-Vanik trade restrictions, and obtaining free-market economy status. The prospects for attaining the first two goals are doubtful, at least by the end... MORE
BAM RAILWAY TO BECOME EXPORT ROUTE?
The Baikal-Amur Railway line (BAM) was originally designed to become a strategic alternative to the Trans-Siberian Railway. The BAM was also supposed to give the development of Eastern Siberia a much-needed boost. But instead of powering new industries in the region, BAM appears on its... MORE
INSTABILITIES IN SOUTHERN KYRGYZSTAN BURDEN GOVERNMENT WITH MORE PROBLEMS
Roughly four weeks before the July 10 presidential elections, violent clashes in Osh and uncertainties around Uzbek refugees in Jalalabad have rocked Kyrgyzstan. On June 13 six people in Osh were hospitalized with gunshot wounds following a brutal fight between protestors and parliamentarian Bayaman Erkinbayev... MORE
TURKISH MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO KAZAKHSTAN HIGHLIGHTS WESTERN DILEMMA
Kazakhstan's armed forces, greatly in need of financial and materiel support from Western countries, has received a significant boost from Turkey. Turkey has donated more than $1.3 million worth of military and technical equipment to the Kazakhstani armed forces, aimed at contributing to the overall... MORE
ISLAM KARIMOV AND THE HEIRS OF TIANANMEN
Fresh from the massacre at Andijan, Islam Karimov traveled to China in late May, where he received not just praise, but expressions of China's delight at his handling of the uprising. Thus Beijing "resolutely supported" Karimov's repression of the "three evil forces": terrorism, separatism, and... MORE