Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
OPPOSITION DOUBTS FAIRNESS OF GEORGIA’S NEW ELECTORAL COMMISSION
The composition of Georgia's new Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has already raised doubts about the fairness of the coming elections. In April parliament amended the Georgian election code to change the composition of the CEC and lower-level election administrations. The main point of the change... MORE
SERGEI IVANOV CHALLENGES THE NEW POLITICAL GENERATION
After four years on the job, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has no impressive record of achievements. His most important "victory" happened some eleven months ago when Anatoly Kvashnin, the ambitious and stubborn chief of the General Staff, was fired and replaced with a quiet... MORE
UKRAINIAN CABINET DECIDES TO RE-SELL STEEL MILL
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's cabinet has decided to re-privatize Ukraine's largest steelworks, Kryvorizhstal, ending months of uncertainty. The government of President Leonid Kuchma sold 93% of Kryvorizhstal's shares to the Investment Metallurgy Union (IMS), controlled by Kuchma's son-in-law, Viktor Pinchuk, and Donetsk tycoon Renat... MORE
ANOTHER MYSTERIOUS TRAFFIC ACCIDENT KILLS ANOTHER KAZAKH JOURNALIST
On June 7 the prominent opposition journalist Batyrkhan Darimbet died in Taraz, southern Kazakhstan. He had been hospitalized since June 2 after a car accident near Taraz city, where he reportedly had gone to set up local branches of Alga, DVK! (Forward, Democratic Choice of... MORE
AFGHAN GOVERNMENT BLAMES TERRORISTS FOR RECENT ATTACKS
Afghanistan is facing a bloody summer, after the June 1 bombing of a mosque in Kandahar and an attack in southern Afghanistan on June 8 that killed two American soldiers. Such incidents have raised many questions about the Taliban's current activities (see EDM, June 2).... MORE
RUSSIA SEEKS TO REASSERT ITS STATUS AS A KEY POWER IN THE CAUCASUS
Having finally agreed last week to withdraw the two Soviet-era bases from Georgia by 2008, Moscow was quick to send a signal to those who believe Russia's retreat from the Caucasus is irreversible (see EDM, June 3). Talking to Profil magazine (June 6), Russian Defense... MORE
WILL SOUTH OSSETIA HAVE ANOTHER BLOODY SUMMER?
Recent weeks have brought alarming developments from Georgia's separatist South Ossetia region. Kidnappings, militant statements, Russian military assistance to the separatists, and fruitless peace negotiations -- the same factors that contributed to armed conflict in the region last summer -- are fully present. On June... MORE
ADMIRAL KUROYEDOV PLANS IMPROVEMENTS TO RUSSIAN NAVY
Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, has promised improvements to the Navy in response to the challenge of meeting emerging and future threats to the Russian state or its interests. These reforms, long overdue and vital if the collapse of the Navy is... MORE
MEDIA BIAS DECREASES IN UKRAINE, BUT THROUGH DUBIOUS MEANS
Six months into the Viktor Yushchenko presidency, the media and information situation in Ukraine remains mixed. The good news is that oligarch control over electronic media is on the decline. The bad news is that the tactics of the newly elected authorities are not always... MORE
VORONIN REQUESTS NATO IPAP, WESTERN SUPPORT TO RESOLVE TRANSNISTRIA
On June 7 in Brussels, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin addressed the North Atlantic Council (NAC, the main decision-making body of NATO) in ambassadorial session, as part of NATO-Moldova consultations within the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. It was the first-ever official visit by a Moldovan... MORE