
Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

Voters’ Low Interest in Elections Casts Doubt on Their Legitimacy
On March 13, Dagestan and Adygea elected their respective regional parliaments. There were reports of serious violations of electoral rules from both republics. At the same time, sources reported an extremely low turnout of the voters, which may indicate a growing political crisis. There are... MORE

Russia to Deploy S-400 Anti-Aircraft Missiles in Kurile Islands
In recent weeks there has been a great deal written about the Russian decision to reinforce the Kurile Islands. There is no doubt that this step, announced in early February, is connected with the public polemics and diplomatic fireworks over the islands and Russia’s relationship... MORE

Food Security Problems in Central Asia Challenge Local Regimes
Food security serves as an indicator of any country’s ability to ensure supply, affordability, and safety of food for its population. But it can also be a barometer, testing the effectiveness of public institutions and legitimacy of governments. In the case of the landlocked Central... MORE

Vice-President Biden’s Visit Can Reanimate US-Moldova Relations (Part One)
US Vice-President, Joseph Biden, paid a seven-hour flag-showing visit to Chisinau on March 11, on his return trip from Moscow to Washington. With this, Biden became the highest-ranking US official ever to visit Moldova during 20 years of the country's independence. Previous high-level visitors were... MORE

Moscow Intensifies Military-Scientific Research in Modernization Drive
The Russian State Defense Order (Gosudarstvennyi Oboronnyi Zakaz –GOZ) for 2011, in areas related to research and development (R&D), was formulated under the control of the defense ministry’s Scientific-Technical Council (Nauchno-Tekhnicheskiy Sovet –NTS). The NTS is a new body which ensures collective discussions at the... MORE

Rumors of Secret Land Lease to China Causes Unease in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstani people are generally not prone to air their political views in public. This is partly due to apathy, a fact regularly deplored by activists, and to some extent to fear of what the consequences might be. But the one topic that will raise people’s... MORE

Authorities Play Down Consecutive Explosions Near FSB Headquarters in Moscow
On March 11, two explosions took place in northern Moscow about 5-10 minutes apart. The bombs reportedly contained 0.3-0.4 kg of TNT along with fragments of nails to cause injuries. No one was hurt since the bombs detonated early in the evening, when there were... MORE

US-Russian Economic “Reset” is Not Happening
The visit of US Vice-President, Joseph Biden, to Moscow last week created a resonance quite out of proportion to its agenda. The hard-won ratification of the START III treaty by the US Senate and the “symmetric” process in the Russian Federal Assembly marked a remarkable... MORE

Mongolian-Iranian Relations Colored by Meat and Uranium
Iran has been steadily increasing its ties with Mongolia and 2010 was a year of increased Iranian overtures toward Ulaanbaatar. In another manifestation of how democratic Mongolia and Iran are looking towards substantially developing their economic ties, in early December 2010, it was announced that... MORE

Kabardino-Balkaria’s “Black Hawks:” Grassroots Vigilantes or FSB Surrogates?
Over the past month or so, the Russian media have been very actively reporting on the creation of an anti-Wahhabi paramilitary unit operating on the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria in response to the actions of insurgents against members of law enforcement agencies. It has been also... MORE