Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

DOES MOSCOW REALLY WANT LUKASHENKA TO BE PRESIDENT-FOR-LIFE?

The Russian political elite appears to be deeply divided over how to react to Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenka's efforts to rule his country indefinitely. While some policymakers in Moscow suggest Russian President Vladimir Putin should follow in Lukashenka's footsteps and scrap the constitutional two-term limit... MORE

CORRUPTION COMPROMISES GEORGIAN ARMED FORCES

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's call to make building a strong army a top priority may have fallen on deaf ears. Not only are the Georgian armed forces not reforming, but also there are indications that military personnel are selling their weapons. During an October 21... MORE

NATO LEADER MAKES HISTORIC VISIT TO CENTRAL ASIA

On October 18-22, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visited, for the first time in this capacity, the five Central Asian countries. He conferred with the head of state, the defense minister, and other top officials in each of the five capitals. The visit's main... MORE

KARACHAEVO-CHERKESSIA HIT BY CRIMINAL VIOLENCE

The North Caucasus republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia has been buffeted by instability this week. Over three successive days, a group of several hundred distraught relatives and friends of seven people who disappeared earlier this month and are believed to have been murdered held demonstrations in Cherkessk,... MORE

POLICYMAKERS, ANALYSTS DEBATE THE PROSPECTS OF A RUSSIAN-U.S. PARTNERSHIP

Two events -- the upcoming U.S. presidential election and Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent announcement of his controversial "reform measures" -- appear to have intensified discussions about the current state and possible evolution of Russian-American relations. One group of politicians and pundits in Moscow and... MORE

FRONT RUNNERS BATTLE IT OUT IN UKRAINE’S LAST PRESIDENTIAL POLLS

Ukrainian media have published the last opinion polls allowed by prior to election day (Ukrayinska pravda, October 15 and 18). Although the results vary among different polling organizations, some show Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko neck-and-neck. Four factors explain Yanukovych's popularity... MORE

WITH KARZAI LEADING, TALIBAN STUMBLES OVER INTERNAL DISSENT

Predictably, the October 9 Afghan presidential election is heading toward a landslide victory for Interim President Hamid Karzai, the U.S.-backed candidate who is considered to be the most moderate and acceptable to the Western world. As of October 20, various wire service reported that Karzai... MORE

PUTIN ASSERTS THAT TERRORISTS SEEK BUSH’S ELECTORAL DEFEAT

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a busy international schedule in mid-October, meeting in Moscow with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and Brazilian Vice-President Jose Alenkar, followed by a full-scale official visit to China, and then staying for several days in Central Asia with a dense... MORE

RUSSIAN MILITARY REFORM: REDUCTION AND RESTRUCTURING, AGAIN

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has announced a series of military personnel cuts that will affect the entire Russian armed forces, not merely the many layers of bureaucrats within the central directorates and main commands in Moscow. The nature of these cuts, which should be... MORE