Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

WHEN ETIQUETTE IS AN ALIEN CONCEPT

"Etiquette" is a loan word in Russian, as in other languages, but the practice does not seem to have been borrowed along with the word by some Russian diplomats, particularly when assigned to the Baltic states. On March 29, Russia's ambassador to Lithuania, Boris Tsepov,... MORE

RUSSIA’S BLACK SEA FLEET CAUSES INCIDENT IN UKRAINE

On March 23-24, a Russian naval landing force held for approximately 24 hours a beachhead near Feodosia on Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, as part of a military exercise not authorized by Ukraine. At 6am on March 23, a Russian marine infantry unit based in Temryuk, Krasnodar... MORE

OPPOSITION SCORES TWO GAINS IN AZERBAIJAN

On March 21, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliev signed an amnesty decree, releasing 115 prisoners. The decreed, timed to coincide with the Novruz spring holiday, freed many individuals that the Council of Europe, local, and international human rights organizations considered to be "political prisoners" (ANS TV,... MORE

MOSCOW CRACKS DOWN ON INDEPENDENT MUSLIM ORGANIZATIONS

Muslims in Russia's Middle Volga region have taken to the streets to protest what they say is a rising tide of xenophobia and official brutality directed against them. On March 13, there were demonstrations in Kazan and Ufa, the capitals of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, respectively,... MORE

UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT CONTINUES SHIFT TOWARD YUSHCHENKO

As Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko prepares to visit Washington, DC next week, his support in the Ukrainian parliament grows even stronger. The camp that supported the Kuchma regime has shrunk, after several groups defected from it to join the factions linked to parliamentary chair Volodymyr... MORE

ASTANA ERECTS INFORMATION BLOCKADE TO FEND OFF KYRGYZ “RIOT”

Incredible as it may sound, the majority of Kazakhstan's population has no idea about recent events in the country next door, Kyrgyzstan. Long after the "governable democracy" of Kyrgyzstan had become clearly unmanageable and President Askar Akayev fled his country on March 24, Kazakhstan's government-controlled... MORE

AUTHORITIES REACT TO PROTESTS IN MINSK

Recent events in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan clearly affected the traditional "Independence Day" demonstration in Minsk on Friday, March 25, when the Belarusian authorities reacted with a fearsome display of force and intimidation along the central street of the capital city. The march, dubbed the "Day... MORE

BALTIC SEA-BLACK SEA “AXIS” ADUMBRATED

On an official visit to Kyiv on March 25-26, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yushchenko, used the term "Baltic Sea-Black Sea Axis," referring to countries pursuing shared interests in this region: the three Baltic states, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and Georgia.... MORE