Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
Azerbaijan, Turkey Hold Large-Scale Military Drills Amidst Escalation of Tensions With Armenia
On July 29, Azerbaijan and Turkey launched a two-week long round of joint military exercises with the participation of ground and air forces from both countries. The military drills involving land forces were held from August 1 to 5, in Baku and Nakhchivan; while the... MORE
Cosmos ASATs and Russia’s Approach to Space Weapons
In recent years, Russia repeatedly demonstrated the increasingly advanced orbital maneuvering capabilities of its satellites by conspicuously moving them closer to Russian, United States and European orbital space assets. These experiments involved the Cosmos 2499 satellite in 2014 (Habr, November 23, 2014), Cosmos 2504 in... MORE
Conflict Conservation in Ukraine’s Donbas Follows the Transnistria Model (Part Two)
*To read Part One, please click here. Elements of the Transnistria conflict-conservation model are taking shape in Ukraine’s Donbas conflict theater, with moves to recast Russia’s state-on-state aggression as an inner-Ukrainian conflict. The July 22 enhanced ceasefire agreement and the preconditions just confirmed for holding... MORE
Belarus Now Dividing Russians More Deeply and Permanently Than Ukraine Did in 2014
When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2014, his actions deeply divided Russian nationalists and many other Russians as well; but the Kremlin leader was able to overcome that discord by annexing Crimea and creating what many have referred to as “the Crimean consensus” in Russia.... MORE
Putin’s Belarus Conundrum
In the midst of the political crisis that has engulfed Belarus since its August 9 presidential elections, the Russian state propaganda machine finds itself in an unusual position. The official Russian media outlets have been trying to play the role of the mainstream press, presenting... MORE
Unprecedented Drought in Crimea: Can the Russian-Occupied Peninsula Solve Its Water Problems Without Ukraine?
The weather in July brought rain to Crimea—but still not enough to save the peninsula from its severe multi-year drought. That same month, the volume of freshwater in Crimea’s reservoirs decreased by almost 8.5 million cubic meters. By August, the amount of reservoir water left... MORE
Conflict Conservation in Ukraine’s East Follows the Transnistria Model (Part One)
“Frozen” is a Western mischaracterization of Russia’s protracted conflict undertakings against Moldova in Transnistria, against Georgia in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and now of the desired end to Russia’s intervention in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas. Those conflicts never “froze” in a political sense—not even after the... MORE
The Dark Side of Russia’s Youth Military-Patriotic Upbringing
Dating back to at least 1732, youth military-patriotic upbringing has historically been an integral aspect of the Russian/Soviet version of patriotism. And though the government’s support for such initiatives dipped somewhat following the collapse of the Soviet Union, they again regained their former centrality in... MORE
Another Gas Spat Between Belarus and Russia Underway
On July 21, the Russian privately owned news agency Interfax reported that Belarus’s natural gas debt to Russia has risen, since May, from $165 million (as was disclosed then by Gazprom) to as much as $273 million (Interfax, July 21). Two days later, the news... MORE
Zelenskyy Appoints Gerontocrats to Negotiate With Russia in Minsk (Part Two)
*To read Part One, please click here. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the head of his Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, have chosen former president Leonid Kravchuk (86) to head the country’s delegation to the Minsk Contact Group as well as former prime minister Vitold... MORE