
Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

Russia Makes Haste in Severing Ties With Europe
Russia has achieved much success last week in its rush toward self-isolation, and perhaps the most demonstrative step was made in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Sergei Naryshkin, the Chairman of the State Duma, came to Strasbourg as the head of... MORE

The Partisan Movements in Belarus During World War II (Part One)
Belarus stands out from other European countries in terms of the casualty rates it suffered during World War II: close to one-third of the entire population of Belarus perished in the war. Another distinguishing feature of Belarus is the role played by its underground partisan... MORE

North Caucasus Militants Split Between Caucasus Emirate and Islamic State, as Radical Islam Gains Influence in Region
In the run-up to the fifth anniversary of the founding the North Caucasus Federal District, Russia’s Ministry of Interior officially reported the results of 2014. It said the law enforcement agencies last year killed 259 members of the armed underground movement, including 36 leaders. In... MORE

Fissures in Russo-Armenian Partnership Spill out Into Yerevan’s International Relations
As the investigation into the January 12 murder of the Avetisyan family (see EDM, January 16) continues, several top Armenian officials have admitted that the Russian side’s refusal to hand over Valery Permyakov, Russian soldier who is the main suspect in the case, contradicts existing... MORE

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Policy: One for All, or All for One?
On December 26, 2014, Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov delivered an official briefing on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ 2014 activities. He provided a broad overview of Kazakhstan’s main foreign policy achievements and breakthroughs throughout the past year. Notably, President Nursultan Nazarbayev made eight official... MORE

Moscow Becomes Increasingly Worried About Russian Nationals Fighting With Islamic State
Russia has finally become concerned about its nationals fighting in Syria against its ally, Bashar al-Assad, and has begun targeting fighters returning from abroad. The authorities’ actions sometimes take an outrageous turn, such as when they recently accused men who had been in Egypt on... MORE

Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Putin Cheating on the Armistice Line in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing a cheating game with the West and Ukraine, not only hollowing out the Minsk armistice agreements (see EDM, January 22, 23, 27), but even shifting the agreed-upon demarcation line on the ground and on the map. Kyiv is alert... MORE

Minsk Ceasefire Agreements Are Dead, but the Russian Offensive Is Faltering
The Minsk ceasefire agreements, signed last September by the representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the Moscow-backed rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), were designed to stop the fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine and create a semblance of a... MORE

Authorities Crack Down on Tatarstan Activists
On December 28, 2014, authorities in the city of Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, detained Tatar rights activist Rafis Kashapov upon his return from Turkey, where he had reportedly received medical treatment and held meetings with local activists. The authorities ordered the activist detained for two months... MORE

Tensions Continue Along Line of Contact Around Karabakh
On January 2–3, clashes took place along the Line of Contact between Azerbaijan and the unrecognized, Armenian-backed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), resulting in casualties on both sides. Though a cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan was reached in 1994, it has regularly been violated for more than... MORE