
Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
Russian Pipeline Projects Shifting To Favor Tokyo Over Beijing
While the battle for Yukos plays out in Moscow, another oil-related struggle continues to unfold on Russia's eastern frontier. China is currently facing energy shortages and brownouts at a time when imported energy is critical to its economic and overall security. But as China's demands... MORE
Disarming Afghanistan’s Warlords: Programs, Problems, Possibilities
In mid-July, Afghanistan's interim president, Hamid Karzai, issued two statements that reflected an unprecedented toughness toward drug traffickers and warlords in the country. Karzai summoned most of Afghanistan's reputed warlords to Kabul to inform them that their resistance to disarmament was trying his patience. According... MORE
Persian Gulf Investors Make A Bid For Yukos
The "mystery backer" behind an offer to pay off Yukos' tax arrears is a consortium of Dubai-based investors, the Sunday Times reported on August 8. "Members of Dubai's ruling Maktoum family are believed to have joined a bid fronted by Konstantin Kagalovsky, a former associate... MORE
The Sad State Of Vladivostok
Although Russia's transition to democracy is understandably going through fits and starts, the July 4 and 19 mayoral elections in Vladivostok highlighted the true rot that exists in the Primorye region. Ultimately Vladimir Nikolayev, director of the fishing and shipping concern TURNIF, was elected mayor... MORE
Belarusian Authorities Close Private University
On July 28, Alyaksandr Radzkou, Minister of Education of Belarus, annulled the license of the European Humanities University (EHU). The university is located on Skaryna Avenue, close to the center of Minsk, in a building leased from the presidential administration. Its 300 faculty and 1,000... MORE
Twenty-six Candidates Compete To Be Ukraine’s Next President, Four Of Them Seriously
Candidate registration for the October 31 Ukrainian presidential election officially closed on August 6. Next, all candidates must collect 500,000 signatures by September 20 (Ukrayinska pravda, August 5). The number of candidates has steadily grown with each presidential election: six in 1991, seven in 1994,... MORE
Authorities In Karachaevo-Cherkessia Fear Union Of Basaev And Local Islamic Separatists
Martial law was unofficially declared in Karachaevo-Cherkessia early in August. According to Regnum News Agency, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) is bringing additional troops into the Republic from Rostov, Krasnodar, Stavropol, Moscow, and other regions of Russia. The piedmont area of Karachaevo-Cherkessia is isolated... MORE
Latest Yukos Stay Of Execution Is Rescinded
Yukos' topsy-turvy fortunes took another sharp dip downward on August 5, when the Justice Ministry announced it had revoked an earlier decision by court bailiffs allowing the company to use frozen funds to pay for day-to-day operations. Meanwhile, some analysts suggested that the contradictory decisions... MORE
Georgia Trying To Uphold Inviolability Of Its Borders
For the first time in more than a decade, Georgia is now mustering the will to uphold the principle of the inviolability of recognized borders under international law. Moscow's policy has largely succeeded in obliterating the Russia-Georgia border in the Abkhaz and South Ossetian sectors,... MORE
Washington Vague On U.S. Basing Plans In Central Asia
Elizabeth Jones, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Eurasian Affairs, has attempted to dispel speculation concerning how long U.S. military forces will remain deployed in Central Asia to support Operation Enduring Freedom. Responding to fears, particularly from Russian security circles, that the deployment may in... MORE