
Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

New Year with Old Burden: Political Limbo and Unclear Purpose to Haunt Moldova in 2013
Three key political trends shaped Moldova’s political landscape during the last year. First of all, there has been an observable erosion of purpose and unity in domestic politics, affecting the coherence of Moldova’s diplomacy. Furthermore, one of the most severe gaffes of Moldovan political leaders... MORE

The End of United National Movement’s Rule in Georgia: What Now?
The year 2012 will be remembered in modern Georgian history as the period when the unchallenged, almost nine-year rule of President Mikheil Saakashvili and his United National Movement (UNM) ended, at least for now. Regardless of Saakashvili’s successes with providing public goods and fighting against... MORE

False Alternatives: Opposition to Sochi Olympics or Repatriation of Syrian Circassians
From the start of the crisis in Syria in 2011 and especially in 2012, Circassians discovered there were an estimated 100,000 of their ethnic brethren living in that war-torn country. Circassian activists expended much effort in 2012 trying to convince the Russian authorities to help... MORE

Will Ukraine and Its Friends Learn Lessons from the Disappointing 2012?
The year 2012 was a disappointing one for Ukraine. In the field of foreign policy, Kyiv failed to either convince the European Union to sign an association and free trade agreement or persuade Russia to cut the gas prices that the ailing Ukrainian economy can... MORE

North Caucasus More Unstable and More Threatening to Moscow Now than a Year Ago
The North Caucasus is far more unstable and more threatening to Moscow’s control than it was a year ago, despite widespread acceptance of Vladimir Putin’s assertions to the contrary. There are three reasons for that conclusion: First, across the region, Islam and nationalism are reinforcing... MORE

Russia’s Armed Forces: Reflections On 2012
As the Russian political-military leadership faces a new year filled with many of the same issues that lay unresolved at the start of 2012, it is likely that the twists and turns of the “reform” associated with former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov will present a... MORE

Local Elections in Kyrgyzstan Strengthen the President, While Past Rivals Fade
Local elections in many of Kyrgyzstan’s major towns have strengthened the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK), which is led by the country’s president, Almazbek Atambayev. Atambayev’s party will now hold a plurality of council seats in the capital Bishkek, where the mayor’s office is... MORE

Trends in Kabardino-Balkaria in 2012 Likely to Continue in 2013
A most unusual event took place in Kabardino-Balkaria in June 2012, when a group of 100 Russian special forces servicemen and investigators descended on the republic’s capital Nalchik. The investigators arrested the head of the republican president’s administration, Vladimir Zhamborov, several other top Kabardino-Balkarian officials... MORE

Putin’s Failure in the Middle Volga
Twenty years ago, in a now-classic study, “Gorbachev’s Failure in Lithuania,” historian Alfred Erich Senn documented the ways in which Mikhail Gorbachev failed to understand the diversity of challenges then facing Soviet rule and adopted a one-size-fits-all policy. This had the effect of exacerbating these... MORE

Russia Takes Pause After Incredible Year of Discoveries and Disappointments
Early January is a period of partying and hibernation in Russia. Yet, this pause also provides an opportunity to reflect on the incredible ups and downs of the past year. Designated by the Kremlin as a year of return to stability and growth, 2012 had... MORE