
Latest Articles about Europe's East

Saakashvili’s Resignation: Start of Ukrainian Parliamentary Election Campaign?
The sudden resignation of the governor of Odesa region, Georgia’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili, roiled the Ukrainian media landscape last week (November 7). Saakashvili was appointed to head the coastal Black Sea province, in May 2015, by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, a long-time personal friend.... MORE

Moscow Hopes Trump Administration Will Give Russia Free Hand to Suppress Syria and Ukraine
The news of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton conceding the race to Donald Trump was met with spontaneous applause by the Kremlin-controlled State Duma (lower house of the Russian parliament) during a plenary session. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the Kremlin-linked flamboyant nationalist politician and leader of the... MORE

Belarus Balances Pursuit of Economic Growth With Strengthening National Identity
On Belarus’s eastern flank, the conflict with Russia over natural gas prices has reportedly been resolved; but the parameters of the resolution are not transparent. In the words of Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov, the price of gas remains $132 per 1,000 cubic meters, as... MORE

Strategic Assessment: Belarus Weathers Economic Doldrums as Rapprochement With West Proceeds
The following political landscape piece is a part of Eurasia Daily Monitor’s special quarterly series of strategic assessments of developments across Eurasia. These pieces examine recent important developments and trends in the region, particularly since this past summer, and anticipate where those trend lines may... MORE

Strategic Assessment: Ukraine Faces New Challenges After War Shock
The following political landscape piece is a part of Eurasia Daily Monitor’s special quarterly series of strategic assessments of developments across Eurasia. These pieces examine recent important developments and trends in the region, particularly since this past summer, and anticipate where those trend lines may... MORE

Does Mikheil Saakashvili Have a Political Future in Georgia?
The opposition United National Movement (UNM) came in distant second in the Georgian parliamentary elections that took place on October 8 (see EDM, October 13). The party of former president Mikheil Saakashvili received only 27.11 percent of the vote for the party list. And it... MORE

Belarus the Object of Two Peculiar Tugs of War
Although Belarus has resolved its argument with Russia about the price of natural gas, the parameters of this resolution are still subject to different interpretations. The two sides have apparently not yet reached a consensus on the scale of the price discount (if any) or... MORE

With Eye Toward 2018 Elections, Putin Spearheads Strategic Infrastructure Mega-Projects in Crimea
Though still two years away, the presidential elections in Russia are already on the minds of the political elite in Moscow. The sitting head of state, President Vladimir Putin, is constitutionally permitted to run again in 2018. And though most expect that he will, his... MORE

Russian Actions in Syria Overshadow Kremlin’s Diplomatic Maneuvers on War in Eastern Ukraine
Three conflicts occurring simultaneously along separate fronts are currently vying for international attention: Russia and its allies continue to besiege the Syrian opposition forces in Aleppo, and a massive Russian naval force is assembling in the Eastern Mediterranean. Meanwhile, Iraqi and international coalition forces led... MORE

Anti-War Protests in Russia; Anti-Russian Protests in Belarus
The Moscow media—and all too often news outlets in the West—paint Russians as a nation 100 percent behind Vladimir Putin’s war in Syria, and Belarusians as a nation fully behind Russia. But in fact, Russian support for Putin’s aggression and Belarusian support for Russia is... MORE