Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
All the President’s Men in a Deja-vu Ukrainian Cabinet
A new pro-Yanukovych majority in parliament appointed its cabinet on March 11. Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov’s, cabinet, numbering 29 ministers, is the largest in Europe after Belarus. It looks very much like the cabinet of the then-Prime Minister Yanukovych in 2006-2007. Azarov’s cabinet is dominated... MORE
Murder of Circassian Activist Unsettles Multi-Ethnic Karachaevo-Cherkessia
On March 15, the funeral of a Circassian activist killed the previous day turned into an impromptu protest rally. An estimated 200 Circassian demonstrators gathered at the central square, next to the republican government building in Cherkessk, the capital of Karachaevo-Cherkessia, to protest against the... MORE
South Stream: a Casualty of Moscow’s Excess Pipeline Capacity Building
Like all parties involved with South Stream, ENI must rely on the new Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych agreeing to share control of Ukraine’s gas transit system with Moscow. In that case, Gazprom would no longer need South Stream as a Ukraine-bypass option, which Moscow had... MORE
Gazprom’s Partner ENI Loses Confidence in South Stream
Italy’s ENI chief executive, Paolo Scaroni, has proposed unifying the Gazprom-led South Stream with the European Union-backed Nabucco pipeline project. The Italian state-controlled energy conglomerate ENI is the key technological and commercial partner to Gazprom in South Stream, the project aimed at transporting gas from... MORE
Turkey Signals a Shift on French Participation in Nabucco
The Turkish parliament ratified the Nabucco inter-governmental agreement (IGA) on March 4, which was signed in July 2009 at a highly-publicized ceremony in Ankara (EDM, July 14, 2009). Consequently, all IGA signatories have concluded the ratification process. The Nabucco consortium welcomed this development, claiming that... MORE
Russia and Kazakhstan Consider Reviving Bilateral Trade
Moscow and Astana have reiterated their earlier pledges to boost bilateral economic and energy partnership. However, the two former Soviet states have proved slow to complete existing energy projects, while bilateral trade has also declined. During a meeting in Moscow, between Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir... MORE
Russian Strategic Interests Shifting Eastward
On March 8, an open letter by a group of German politicians and military officers, including the former German Defense Minister, Volker Ruehe, recommending that NATO should offer membership to Russia stimulated speculation that such approaches might be reflected in the Alliance’s new strategic concept... MORE
Shifting Regional Dynamics Force Russia to Suspend Promised Loan to Kyrgyzstan
The financial crisis and energy deficits have significantly exacerbated political and economic tensions in Kyrgyzstan. It is in these circumstances that the Kyrgyz leadership secured a $2.15 billion package from Russia in 2009, allegedly in exchange for the closure of United States base from the... MORE
Russian Government and Public View North Caucasians With Suspicion
On March 10, the independent union of the Dagestani police and prosecutors petitioned President Dmitry Medvedev, asking him to dismiss the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin. The union members accused Bastrykin of inciting ethnic hatred and undermining basic human rights as described by... MORE
Medvedev’s Euro-Modernization Hits the Corruption Wall
An interesting feature of President Dmitry Medvedev’s trademark idea of “modernization” is that each time it starts to work, he feels compelled to push the brakes and engage in back-pedaling, and once Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, intercepts the initiative, Medvedev tries to add spin to... MORE