Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
SHANGHAI GROUP CONSIDERS POST-ANDIJAN SECURITY IN CENTRAL ASIA
On June 4 the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) met in Astana to formally agree on an agenda for their upcoming summit, scheduled to be held in Kazakhstan's capital July 5-6. Yet in addition to the organizational elements discussed, the meeting provided... MORE
KREMLIN FORCES NORTH OSSETIAN PRESIDENT TO RESIGN
On May 31, Alexander Dzasokhov, president of North Ossetia, announced his early resignation, saying he wanted "to give way to a younger generation" within the Ossetian leadership. "I am making a precedent," he declared. "While all others are trying to extend their terms; I decided... MORE
RUSSIA’S SHRINKING HORIZONS OF ECONOMIC PLANNING AND POLITICAL PLOTTING
Hardly anybody in Russia misses the rigid Soviet pattern of five-year plans, but many Russians are growing uncomfortable about the chaotic play of market forces. Putin's plan to strengthen central control over key economic activities was supposed to reduce this unpredictability and provide a sound... MORE
UKRAINIAN POLICE GO AFTER YANUKOVYCH, MEDVEDCHUK
As Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko promised several months ago, investigators have finally targeted the very top figures from the previous government. Police have summoned former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and former presidential administration head Viktor Medvedchuk for questioning over several graft cases. Earlier the... MORE
RUSSIA ASSAILS LATVIA’S RATIFICATION OF MINORITIES CONVENTION
On May 26, the Latvian parliament ratified the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The Russian government is denouncing Latvia's move vociferously in the mass media and international organizations, on the grounds that the Latvian parliament has attached two reservations... MORE
KHODORKOVSKY AND ADAMOV: A TALE OF TWO TRIALS
The trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky finally came to its predictable conclusion on May 31, with the unfortunate magnate sentenced to nine years, less the 18 months he has already spent behind bars. The reaction to the outcome of the most important criminal case in post-Soviet... MORE
RUSSIAN ANALYSTS SAY MOSCOW MAY BENEFIT FROM FRENCH AND DUTCH “NO” TO EU CONSTITUTION
As the European Union's leadership reels from the French and Dutch rejection of the bloc's proposed constitution in national referendums on May 29 and June 1, respectively, most Russian analysts believe this new development may work to Russia's advantage. The resolute refusal to approve the... MORE
LAVROV MEETS CHINESE, INDIAN COUNTERPARTS IN VLADIVOSTOK
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Chinese and Indian counterparts Li Zhaoxing and Natwar Singh in Vladivostok on June 2, talk resurfaced about the three countries combining forces into a Moscow-Beijing-New Delhi axis, an alliance of three nuclear-armed countries that are home to... MORE
BREAKTHROUGH IN GEORGIA-RUSSIA NEGOTIATIONS ON TROOP WITHDRAWAL
On May 30 in Moscow, Ministers of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and Salome Zourabichvili signed a Joint Statement regarding the "cessation of functioning" of Russian military bases and other installations and withdrawal of Russian forces from Georgia. In this document, the Russian side renounces some... MORE
RUSSIA STUDIES OSH FOR POSSIBLE NEW MILITARY BASE IN KYRGYZSTAN
Russia is seriously contemplating the possibility of increasing its military presence in Kyrgyzstan, largely in response to the Kyrgyz revolution in March and the recent unrest in Uzbekistan. Despite senior individuals with strong influence within the Kremlin alluding to Osh as the location of a... MORE