
Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

Gorbachev Warns of Explosive Problems With Medvedev’s “Modernization”
Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, concentrated on the European direction of his modernization-focused foreign policy last week, making working visits to Finland and Italy. Both countries are Russia’s close partners and the trips were problem-free, with a healthy sweat in a sauna with Finnish President, Tarja... MORE

The US Expands Military Ties with Tajikistan
The US Ambassador to Tajikistan, Ken Gross, announced on June 25 that the US plans to open a military training center in Tajikistan pending the signing of related agreements with the Tajik side. The proposed center, to be located 45 kilometers (km) from the capital,... MORE

Moscow Promises Increased “Energy Efficiency”
Moscow has reiterated plans to improve its energy efficiency by pledging huge investments aimed at developing its power supply networks. However, the economic viability of Russia’s proposed capital-intensive solutions apparently remain far from certain. The country’s energy efficiency challenges have recently become a matter of... MORE

Railway and Hydroelectric Engineer Targeted in Dagestan
Attacks apparently carried out by insurgents and attacking infrastructure have been reported in Dagestan in the wake of the daring attack earlier this week on the Baksan hydropower station in Kabardino-Balkaria. Russian news agencies reported that an improvised explosive device (IED) went off today (July... MORE

Veteran of Anti-Russian Wars named as Head of Dagestan’s Sharia Jamaat
Dagestan’s Sharia Jamaat acquired a new leader this past week, six months after the death on the night of December 31, 2009 of the previous Emir al-Bar (aka Umalat Magomedov). Seifullah of Gubden (aka Magomed Vagapov), the emir of the Gubden Jamaat, has been chosen... MORE

Alarmist International Reporting Alienates Armed Forces and Challenges Stability in Kyrgyzstan
Among others, Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group, and Medicins Sans Frontiers have blamed Kyrgyz military and police forces for abusing the rights of ethnic Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan in the aftermath of ethnic conflict. Cases of arbitrary detention, severe forms of torture and beating... MORE

Russia Will Spend 20 Trillion Rubles on New Weapons
The new First Deputy Defense Minister, Colonel-General Vladimir Popovkin (retired), who is in charge of rearming the Russian military, told journalists at the Farnborough international air show, in the UK, that spending on the procurement of new weapons will increase twofold. The authorities in Moscow... MORE

Prospects For Regime Change in Belarus
The approach of a new election always leads political analysts in Belarus to revisit a familiar question: is regime change possible or remote? Are Belarusians in general satisfied with the presidency of Alyaksandr Lukashenka? Will the current rift with Russia lead to the downfall of... MORE

Ukraine Expects a New Loan From the IMF
Kyiv has made every effort to qualify for a new $14.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which it expects the IMF board to improve at the end of July. With no parliamentary or presidential elections on the horizon, and a victory in... MORE

While Promising Investment, Moscow is Delivering Harsher Laws in the North Caucasus
On July 15, a meeting between Dagestan’s Vice Prime Minister, Rizvan Kurbanov, and the relatives of a detained bus driver prevented a possible regional scandal –the blockade of the highway connecting Russia and Azerbaijan. Relatives of Usman Garisov, who was arrested on drug possession and... MORE