Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
Bakiyev Faces Mass Murder Charges
On November 17, a controversial trial began in Bishkek over the ousted former Kyrgyz president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, and 28 members of his regime. Former defense minister Baktybek Kalyev is among the defendants. Bakiyev, however, along with six other defendants, is being tried in absentia (www.akipress.kg,... MORE
Additional Buildup of Military Forces in Dagestan Proceeds with Caution
On November 14, Russian Deputy Interior Minister, Nikolai Rogozhkin, who is commander of the ministry’s internal troops, announced the first native Dagestani military detachment formation. The new unit is comprised of 300 people and eventually will grow to 700 servicemen. Rogozhkin concisely expressed Moscow’s hopes:... MORE
Russian “Illegal” Spies in the US Were Betrayed by a Double Agent
The group of ten Russian spies arrested last June in the US by the FBI and later deported to Russia in a spy exchange was revealed by Moscow last week to have been betrayed by a high-ranking double agent in the Foreign Security Service (SVR)–... MORE
European Commission Urges Corrections to Bulgarian-Russian South Stream Agreement
The European Commission is calling for changes to the Bulgarian-Russian inter-governmental agreement on the South Stream gas project. The project agreements, just signed for the Bulgarian section of this Gazprom-led project (EDM, November 16) are also generating serious complications in and for Bulgaria.On November 15... MORE
***Note to our readers: Retraction of statement in November 9, 2010 EDM article by Taras Kuzio. Click to read full retraction.
Note to our readers: In an article by Taras Kuzio in EDM on November 9 (“Yanukovych and Oligarchs: a Short or Long-Term Relationship?”) we reported on an alleged incident during a meeting attended by Rinat Akhmetov with President Yanukovych. Mr. Akhmetov’s representatives contacted us and... MORE
Moscow’s Approach to the North Caucasus Looks Increasingly Deluded
Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev had to admit recently that 454 terrorist acts and 510 offenses of extremist nature were committed in Russia in the first nine months of 2010. It would have been odd if the minister had blamed the Russian authorities for the... MORE
China’s Expansionist Policy Toward Kazakhstan Takes a New Turn
In a bid to expand its presence in Central Asia in geopolitical competition with the US and Russia, China seems determined to use every available means ranging from the energy sector to intensifying its military cooperation within the framework of bilateral “strategic partnership” programs. One... MORE
Freedom of the Russian Press: a Story of Lost Trust
The recent attack on the Russian journalist and blogger Oleg Kashin left him severely injured. While he was still unconscious in a medically induced coma, an avalanche of speculation surrounded who might be responsible, with the so-called “liberal opposition” groups quarrelling with each other over... MORE
Moscow Shows Anxiety Over Passing the New START Treaty
Even before the US midterm elections, the Russian government and media expressed concern that the New START treaty, signed in Prague in April of 2010, might not obtain ratification (ITAR-TASS, October 18, 28; Novaya Gazeta, October 25). There is no doubt that the Russian government... MORE
Rewarding Merit in the Russian Officer Corps
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the Russian defense reform initiated in October of 2008 was its aim to transform the Russian officer corps. Many reform critics and analysts focused upon the planned downsizing of the corps to 150,000 serving officers. However, downsizing alone does... MORE