Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
The Composition of Putin’s Popular Front
Earlier this month, on the official June 12 “Russia Day” holiday, President Vladimir Putin was nominated leader of the Popular Front. The Front was established in 2011 to supplement the traditional party of power, United Russia (UR). But at the same time, the Front was... MORE
Caucasus Emirate Reverses Position on Syrian Jihad
In less than a year, the Caucasus Emirate’s leaders have reversed their position on whether or not to view the uprising in Syria as a sacred jihad. The leader of the North Caucasian jihadist movement, Doku Umarov, spoke rather ambiguously in a video address last... MORE
Old and New Options Considered in the Post-Nabucco Era
Planning the Southern Gas Corridor to Europe, the European Commission in Brussels had defined the Nabucco pipeline project as the corridor’s mainstay. With Nabucco-West’s official demise (see accompanying article and EDM, June 27), the gas producer, transiting and consumer countries situated between Turkmenistan and Central... MORE
The Curtain Falls on Nabucco’s Last Act
Nabucco-West, the pipeline project that was to have carried Azerbaijani gas from Turkey to the Central European Gas Hub near Vienna, is exiting from the stage. There will be no encore: “The Nabucco project is over for us. Our goal now is European gas for... MORE
Belarus: A Replay of the Old Plot
In his play “Tuteishiya” (Locals), Janka Kupala (1882–1942), Belarus’s most famous poet and playwright, depicts two characters that are mirror reflections of each other. Whereas the Western Scientist speaks Polish and claims that “so-called Belarus” is in fact Poland, the Eastern Scientist speaks Russian and... MORE
Head of Ingushetia Yevkurov Spars with Captured Insurgent Leader Emir Magas in Court
Three years ago—on June 9, 2010—Russian authorities made a surprise announcement that one of the most significant and influential figures in the armed resistance in the North Caucasus, Emir Magas (a.k.a. Ali Taziev, Magomed Yevloev), had been captured alive and in good health (www.kp.ru/daily/24504/656718/). His... MORE
Shah Deniz Gas Producers Select Trans-Adriatic Pipeline Route into Europe over Nabucco
The gas producers’ consortium at Shah Deniz in Azerbaijan has selected the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline project (TAP, Greece-Albania-Italy, led by Norwegian Statoil) to deliver Azerbaijani gas to Europe. This decision eliminates the Nabucco-West pipeline project (Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria) from consideration. The decision was communicated to the two rival... MORE
The Snowden Case as a Potential Disruptor of US-Russian Relations
Edward Snowden, the contractor who worked as a systems administrator at a United States National Security Agency (NSA) facility in Hawaii, apparently flew into Moscow from Hong Kong on Sunday, June 23, and had a ticket booked to fly Aeroflot to Havana on June 24,... MORE
More Young Tajik Radicals Starting to Fight Abroad?
The government in Dushanbe has said that three citizens of Tajikistan were recently killed fighting on the side of the rebels in Syria. Also according to Dushanbe, 11 Tajikistani fighters were killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan during the last several years. Tajikistan’s State Committee for... MORE
Portrait of Stalin Sparks Brawl at WWII Ceremony in Crimea
In Ukraine, June 22 marks a day of mourning dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Great Patriotic War (Second World War). On this day, Ukrainian war veterans, military service officials and government representatives in different regions of the country come together and... MORE