Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

Russian Military Plagued By Falling Conscript Standards

President Putin's recent changes in the senior personnel in the Russian armed forces have aroused concerns about the future course of the military. Those appointed, at least on paper, hold out the promise of steady improvement in the military, rather than continued decline. Colonel-General Alexander... MORE

Who Are Lukashenka’s Rivals For President?

The latest survey conducted by the Minsk-based Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies in June 2004 suggests that there is a new pool of contenders for the Belarusian presidency (iiseps.by). However, the electorate remains unconvinced that any of the individuals could mount a realistic... MORE

Western Diplomacy Unmoved By “Linguistic Cleansing” In Trans-Dniester

International organizations, as well as an indifferent U.S. State Department, are proving unable or unwilling to deal with "linguistic cleansing" in Trans-Dniester. All players involved are treating the Russian authorities' forcible closure of the last six Latin-script schools as an unwelcome distraction from negotiations toward... MORE

Rising Abuse Of State-Administrative Resources In Ukrainian Elections

In late July, the Ukrainian Ministry of Families, Children, and Youth unofficially organized a youth forum to rally support for President Leonid Kuchma's candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Each oblast branch of the Ministry received instructions to organize "delegates" for... MORE

Dagestan’s Officials And Police Await Assassination

The head of Dagestan's Novolak district administration, Arsen Khaidakov, was assassinated in Makhachkala on the evening of July 29. His death is the latest in a decade of political violence that has claimed many Dagestani officials and politicians. Khaidakov, 39, was shot on the doorsteps... MORE

Maskhadov Vows To Step Up Attacks

Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, who in the past consistently stressed his readiness for political negotiations with the Kremlin, has delivered a message promising stepped up attacks in Chechnya, Ingushetia, and beyond, and that rebel forces will kill the winner of the next Chechen presidential... MORE

Is The BTC Oil Pipeline Part Of A Political Game?

On July 22 Georgia's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources ordered British Petroleum (BP) to suspend construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline in the Borjomi valley of Western Georgia. The U.S.-backed and BP-led strategic $3.6-billion, 1750-km pipeline is intended to transport 800,000 barrels of crude... MORE

Without Kazakhstani Oil, Odessa-Brody Becomes Brody-Odessa

On July 26-27, Ukraine's state pipeline company UkrTransNafta announced the signing of agreements with Tyumen Oil-British Petroleum (TNK-BP, the Russian-British joint company) on the reverse use of the Odessa-Brody -- henceforth Brody-Odessa -- oil pipeline. The agreements envisage the transit of 9 million tons of... MORE