Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

KAZAKHSTAN SUFFERS FIRST DEATH OF PEACEKEEPER IN IRAQ

Kazakhstan has suffered its first military casualty in Iraq. On January 9 Captain Kayrat Kudabayev died from his injuries after an explosion in Al-Suwaira, north of Wasit province. This incident marks a significant test for Kazakhstan in its ongoing commitment to peace support operations within... MORE

ASTANA PLEDGES STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA

On January 12 Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Almaty for a two-day official visit, his first foreign trip of the new year. Abandoning the usual practice of announcing upcoming visits by state leaders, Kazakhstan's official media refrained from publicizing Putin's visit prior to his... MORE

UZBEKISTAN BULLDOZES SETTLEMENTS ALONG BORDER WITH KAZAKHSTAN

A tense situation is unfolding near the South Kazakhstan--Uzbekistan border. In a program approved by Uzbekistan's Prime Minister, Shavkat Mirziyaev, local authorities are planning to demolish settlements and private dachas that happen to be located in the zone of border delimitation. Two districts of the... MORE

BALTIC DILEMMAS AND THE MOSCOW SUMMIT

On January 12, Latvia's President Vaira Vike-Freiberga announced that she would be attending the VE-Day 60th anniversary summit to be held in May in Moscow. The issue is deeply controversial in the three Baltic states, and Vike-Freiberga's announcement scuttles the November 2004 agreement by the... MORE

VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO DECLARED UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT

On January 10, Ukraine's Central Election Commission (CEC) officially declared opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko to be Ukraine's third president. The final vote count stood at 51.99% for Yushchenko compared to Viktor Yanukovych's 44.20%. Thirteen CEC members voted in favor of the ruling while two abstained.... MORE

RUSSIA’S PACIFIC OIL PIPELINE SEEN AS DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Russia has long heralded its "strategic energy partnership" with China, yet Moscow has recently approved the Japan-bound East Siberia-Pacific oil pipeline. Now Russia is struggling to offer Beijing a sufficient consolation prize. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that China' state oil company, CNPC,... MORE

RIVAL GEORGIAN MINISTERS CROSS SWORDS

Last week, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was forced to mediate between two bickering members of his government. Ultimately, Saakashvili reached a temporary truce in the standoff between Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili and his predecessor, Gia Baramidze, currently State Minister for European Integration. Baramidze had replaced... MORE

DEFENSE MINISTER TARGETS CORRUPTION IN GEORGIAN MILITARY

Irakli Okruashvili, Georgia's Minister of Defense has alleged the continued existence of widespread corruption within the military. On January 4, he named senior Ministry of Defense officials, whom he said were involved in misappropriating funds, and set the target of seeing them imprisoned within one... MORE