Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

Defense Spending and Policy Discussions Are Splitting the Russian Elite

Last week, the public standing of one of President Vladimir Putin’s most powerful cohorts—Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov—was seriously undermined when Russia’s Investigation Committee (Slyedstvenny Kommitet Rossye—SKR) publicly accused the defense ministry–controlled holding company “Oboronservis” of corruption and of defrauding the federal budget of “over three... MORE

South Stream as Kremlin’s Geopolitical Tool

Russia is moving rapidly to start building the South Stream natural gas pipeline before the end of the year. On October 29, Serbia became the first Gazprom partner to announce its final investment decision on the construction of South Stream. Bulgaria will follow suit on... MORE

Political Reforms Still Possible in the North Caucasus

On October 24, the Memorial human rights center published a report on the situation in the North Caucasus during this past summer. The report documents the latest trends in the region that are often overlooked in the daily news. For example, Memorial determined that the... MORE

Is Moscow Losing Its India Connection?

Earlier in October, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin traveled to India to complete discussions ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s planned trip there and to negotiate nuclear and arms deals. Perhaps not surprisingly, given Rogozin’s charm as a diplomat, Putin’s trip was postponed and overt... MORE

Belarus and Russia: Affinity and Dependency

No two countries in the world today are as close as Russia and Belarus. This closeness has multiple aspects, one of which is structural affinity between the Russian and Belarusian societies. Both are afflicted with an internal schism, and the two resulting segments of each... MORE

Russian Exodus from the North Caucasus Continues

Ethnic Russians continue to leave the North Caucasus—albeit at a slower rate than in the 1990s—but it is an indication of just how far things have gone there. “About a third of the ethnic Russian population still [in the North Caucasus] would like to leave,... MORE

UDAR – Our Ukraine Pragmatists in a Radical Opposition Era

Six exit polls at the closing of the October 28 parliamentary election gave the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms (UDAR), led by boxing champion Vitaliy Klychko, between 13–15 percent of the vote. Together with 23–25 percent for jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchina (Fatherland)... MORE