Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
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
OSSETIA AND INGUSHETIA PROTEST KREMLIN PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS
On June 7, Taymuraz Mamsurov, the speaker of North Ossetian parliament, was officially declared the new leader of the republic. The process, which in other regions of Russia lasts for days or weeks, was completed in just a few hours. According to gazeta.ru, at 9:00... MORE
RUSSIA SEEKS CLARITY IN RELATIONS WITH JAPAN
The Kremlin has urged Japan to show a "more concrete" interest in economic ties with Russia, while Moscow is yet to finalize its own Pacific oil pipeline plan. Meanwhile, prospects of a major economic breakthrough in bilateral relations have been hindered by the long-standing territorial... MORE