
Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

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

Insurgency-Related Violence in the North Caucasus Causes Over 50 Deaths Last Month
Statistics on insurgency-related violence in the North Caucasus in February show that most of the violence was concentrated in the republics of Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria. Kavkazsky Uzel reported this week that 59 people were killed as a result of insurgency-related violence in the North Caucasus... MORE

Putin Looks For LNG Exit From South Stream
On March 9, the Russian government’s official websites published a transcript of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s and Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko’s “working meeting,” held that day in Putin’s office. Putin suggests to an approving Shmatko that the South Stream gas pipeline project in the Black... MORE

Kyrgyzstan’s Ruling Coalition Doomed to Rapid Collapse
The ruling coalition will collapse before Kyrgyzstan’s President, Roza Otunbayeva, returns from her two-day trip to Washington, a member of the opposition Ata-Meken party told Jamestown recently. The current coalition consisting of Ata-Jurt, the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK), and Respublika parties has remained... MORE

The Geneva Process: A Balance Sheet Since The Russia-Georgia War (Part Two)
Two and a half years into the armistice and fifteen rounds into the Geneva implementation talks (“Georgia & The Geneva Process: A Balance Sheet Since The 2008 War,” EDM, March 10), the Geneva process seems to be leading nowhere.The armistice agreements remain unimplemented in all... MORE