Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
RUSSIAN AIR FORCE PLANES MISBEHAVE OVER LITHUANIA, ESTONIA
At 15:20 local time in good flying weather on September 15, a Russian air force Su-27 fighter jet crashed into a field in western Lithuania. The plane was part of a convoy of seven fighter jets (Mig-29 and Su-27) and an A-50 radar plane en... MORE
TBILISI RETURNS TO SABER RATTLING IN ABKHAZ POLICY
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his team are continuing to send varied signals about their plans for Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia. The recent initiative by Georgian and Abkhaz officials to advance confidence-building measures by signing an agreement about non-resumption of hostilities (see EDM, August... MORE
LUKASHENKA AT THE UN: PROPAGANDA AND INVECTIVE
Though the domestic situation in Belarus is tightly controlled by the authorities, the administration of President Alexander Lukashenka has been isolated internationally to an increasing extent. It was designated an "outpost of tyranny" by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the U.S. administration and... MORE
LACKING SUBSTANCE, MOSCOW PREFERS TO TALK TERRORISM
The huge gathering of world leaders under the UN flag last week was generally disappointing, but for Russian President Vladimir Putin it worked out just fine. Moscow is quite content with the unreformed format of the Security Council, where it has one of the five... MORE
DID BEREZOVSKY FINANCE UKRAINE’S ORANGE REVOLUTION?
The legitimacy of Viktor Yushchenko's victory in the Ukrainian presidential election last December has been called into question by reports suggesting that Russian maverick tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who lives in self-imposed exile in London, financed Yushchenko's election campaign. The allegations have even led to calls... MORE
A “PARALLEL CIS” IN DEMOCRATIC PACKAGING
Representatives of Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Karabakh held a conference on "A Parallel CIS" on September 15-16 in Moscow. The gathering differed from previous ones in that it was overtly sponsored by officials of Russia's executive branch of power. Modest Kolerov, head of the... MORE
MOTHERS OF BESLAN DECLARE WAR AGAINST FEDERAL PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE
While the first anniversary of the September 2004 Beslan hostage tragedy passed peacefully, the tension between residents of Beslan and the Russian authorities is increasing. Initially, it seemed the September 2 meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and representatives from the Mothers of Beslan Committee... MORE
RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN MILITARY EXERCISE ANACHRONISTIC
On September 10-13, Russia and Armenia conducted a tactical military exercise at the Marshal Bagramian training grounds, close to the Armenian-Turkish border. President Robert Kocharian and other Armenian officials attended the final, live-fire stage of the joint exercise. Each side committed a motor-rifle regiment, artillery,... MORE
TURMOIL IN UKRAINE GALVANIZES KREMLIN INTO ACTION
The Kremlin sees the ongoing political crisis in Kyiv that culminated in last week's dismissal of the Yulia Tymoshenko government by President Viktor Yushchenko as an opportune moment to restart the geopolitical "battle for Ukraine." Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration, although bitterly stung by the... MORE
BEHIND UKRAINE’S POLITICAL CRISIS (PART 2)
The Orange Revolution and subsequent election of President Viktor Yushchenko showed that Ukrainian society wanted "change." But as the Economist (September 8) pointed out, the "Orange Revolution promised much but has so far delivered little." Indeed, Ukrainians believe that, eight months into Yushchenko's presidency, there... MORE