Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
PUTIN-KOCHARIAN LOVE FEST CONCEALS REAL PROBLEMS
Russia's gas price hike to Armenia, demands for property in return for temporary price relief, supply cuts following the pipeline blasts in the North Caucasus, unilateral Russian announcements about adding weaponry to the Russian base in Armenia, and finally three murders of ethnic Armenians within... MORE
MOSCOW PUTS KADYROV’S PRIVATE ARMY UNDER ITS OWN COMMAND
Ramzan Kadyrov is the most powerful figure in Chechnya. Ordinary Chechens are afraid of him and his thugs, the kadyrovtsy. Even the Russian military forces posted in Chechnya do not dare to oppose the kadyrovsty. This fear is so widespread that it has become conventional... MORE
TBILISI TURNS TO TEHRAN TO BRIDGE ENERGY DEFICIT
The Russian-Georgian gas crisis following the January 22 explosion of two gas pipelines in Russian territory (see EDM, January 23) seemed to be resolved by a plan to deliver Russian natural gas through Azerbaijan. But on January 24 Georgian Energy Minister Nika Gilauri reported a... MORE
YUSHCHENKO’S REFERENDUM THREATS RING HOLLOW
President Viktor Yushchenko used the dual anniversary of Ukraine's unification into an independent state in 1919 and his own inauguration in January 2005 to provide concrete suggestions to escape the political crisis resulting from parliament's January 10 vote of no confidence in his government (see... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN CLAIMS REGIONAL LEADERSHIP ROLE
The inauguration ceremony of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, held in Astana on January 11, witnessed more than the expected national display of Nazarbayev's tight grip on power. According to sources within the Foreign Ministry, it also conveyed the impression that Kazakhstan is now the leader... MORE
INTEREST REBOUNDS IN TRANS-CASPIAN PIPELINE FOR TURKMEN GAS
Russia's New Year "gas attack" on Ukraine and its impact on gas supplies Europe-wide has suddenly reawakened interest in obtaining direct access to the gas reserves of Turkmenistan. Such interest reemerged even before the second round of Russian gas supply shortfalls to Europe in the... MORE
ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN LEADERS SET FOR MAKE-OR-BREAK MEETING ON KARABAKH
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have set the stage for yet another meeting of their presidents that could prove fateful for the protracted search for a solution to the Karabakh conflict. Presidents Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev are due to meet in France... MORE
SCAREMONGERING AND SCARED PEOPLE: THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN CONTINUES IN BELARUS
The campaign to collect signatures for the remaining seven candidates in the Belarusian election (Alyaksandr Voytovich has dropped out of the contest) is in full swing. Each candidate needs to gather at least 100,000 signatures of support to be eligible for the March 19 vote.... MORE
RUSSIAN ENERGY SUPPLY CUTOFF TO GEORGIA: ANOTHER WAKE-UP SIGNAL TO THE WEST
At 2:52 and 3:15 AM, Moscow time, on January 22, TNT bomb explosions in Russia's North Ossetia damaged the North Caucasus-South Caucasus main pipeline and Mozdok-Tbilisi auxiliary pipeline that supply Georgia (and Armenia through Georgia) with gas. At 11:50 AM that same day, another TNT... MORE
RUSSIA STRUGGLES WITH COLD AND SHIVERS FROM ENERGY INSECURITY
For a second week Russia has been making international news even though its political life remains close to hibernation. Arctic air has spread over its vast territory, bringing bitterly cold temperatures that most cities have not seen for the last 25 years. Moscow, with daytime... MORE