Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
BASHAR ASSAD COMES TO MOSCOW, SEEKING GIFTS
Earlier this month a scandal broke out when it became known that Moscow was planning to sell Syria the Iskander-E and Igla anti-air missiles (see EDM, January 17). Rumors of this sale prompted first Israel and then America to publicly warn Russia about disturbing the... MORE
YUSHCHENKO IN MOSCOW
On January 24, one day after his inauguration as President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko paid a visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yushchenko thus fulfilled a campaign promise to head for Moscow on his first presidential trip abroad, as a reassuring gesture to opponents in... MORE
SOUTH OSSETIA OFFERS TO BARGAIN WITH TBILISI FOR RELEASE OF SUSPECTED MURDERERS
While Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is preparing to address the January 26 session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with "unprecedented" peace proposals for Georgia's breakaway regions, a hostage drama in South Ossetia threatens to cloud his plans. On January 19, the... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN INTRODUCES NEW EFFORTS TO SUPPRESS RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM
Police in Almaty have detained supporters of the Islamic organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir who had organized an unauthorized demonstration close to the central city mosque on the morning of January 20. The police media department told the Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency: "Police officers detained almost all demonstration participants,... MORE
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S “CRUSADE” AGAINST TAX EVASION FAILS TO IMPRESS
Armenian President Robert Kocharian has announced a major crackdown on tax evasion, which is widely blamed for the highly uneven distribution of the benefits of Armenia's robust economic growth. In separate high-profile meetings with the leaders of his government's taxation and customs administration services earlier... MORE
WHO STANDS IN OPPOSITION TO YUSHCHENKO?
Yesterday, January 23, opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko was sworn in as president of Ukraine. The tables have been turned in Kyiv, and those who ruled yesterday are coming to grips with the new reality and learning to be in the opposition. For the moment, for... MORE
DID UKRAINE’S SECURITY SERVICE REALLY PREVENT BLOODSHED DURING THE ORANGE REVOLUTION?
On January 17, the New York Times published a sensational expose alleging that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) had been key to preventing bloodshed during the Orange Revolution. The article was translated for Ukrayinska pravda the same day and has unleashed a debate as... MORE
KREMLIN WARY OF EMERGING KYIV-TBILISI AXIS
Russian analysts are growing uneasy over what they see as a nascent geostrategic relationship between the "post-revolutionary" governments of Georgia and Ukraine. Moscow is wary that pro-Western leaders in Kyiv and Tbilisi will weaken its geopolitical dominance in the former Soviet lands by challenging Russia-led... MORE
UKRAINIAN STEEL EXPORTS FACE HURDLES ON THE RUSSIAN MARKET
Ukrainian steel pipe deliveries to Russia, traditionally a contentious issue, will undoubtedly figure high on the agenda of upcoming discussions on bilateral economic relations. Regime change in Ukraine adds a political dimension to the negotiations with Moscow on this major Ukrainian export article. On January... MORE
WHILE PENSIONERS PROTEST, BUREAUCRATS THRIVE
As demonstrations against the Kremlin's benefits reform continue, some opponents of the changes have noted that while millions of pensioners, war veterans, and invalids have seen their in-kind social benefits replaced by meager cash payments ranging from $5 to $55 a month, the changes have... MORE