Latest Articles about Europe's East
UKRAINIAN MINISTER, MAYOR TRADE ACCUSATIONS OF CORRUPTION
When Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky publicly accused Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko of corruption. Lutsenko denied that allegation and punched Chernovetsky in the face. Chernovetsky sued him, and Kyiv prosecutors launched a criminal case against Lutsenko. In return, police, whose boss is Lutsenko, re-opened an... MORE
REPRESSION UNDERMINES DIALOGUE WITH BELARUS
On January 22 Andrea Rigoni, a special rapporteur on Belarus for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), declared that PACE should recommence a dialogue with the Belarusian regime of President Alexander Lukashenka. Her comment denotes the latest stage in a continuing debate... MORE
PUTIN-VORONIN FAREWELL: AN ANTI-CLIMACTIC CODA
Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Vladimir Voronin of Moldova met on January 22 in Moscow for the last time in their presidencies. Voronin was still hoping against hope that Putin might finally deliver a settlement of the Transnistria conflict on terms compatible with Moldovan... MORE
YUSHCHENKO STRIVES TO DOMINATE TYMOSHENKO GOVERNMENT
The political honeymoon between Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko appears to be over. Yushchenko has thwarted Tymoshenko’s planned visit to Moscow, torpedoed planned appointments to her government, disagreed with her privatization plan, and come up with a package of bills aimed... MORE
TYMOSHENKO AND YUSHCHENKO CLASH OVER BATTLING CORRUPTION
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has made combating corruption and strengthening the rule of law central elements in her government’s policy. She is apparently starting at the highest levels of the government. The issue of the lack of action against corruption led to a physical... MORE
UKRAINE’S TOP THREE LEADERS REQUEST NATO MEMBERSHIP ACTION PLAN
On January 16 Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and Parliament Chairman Arseny Yatsenyuk made public a joint letter to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, declaring Ukraine's readiness to advance to a Membership Action Plan (MAP) with NATO and requesting a... MORE
NEW UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER LAUNCHES STATE AUDITS, SAVINGS PAYOUTS
Having barely formed her Cabinet of Ministers, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko got down to business. She resumed several campaigns that she had launched when she was prime minister in 2005 but were dismissed by her successors as too “populist.” In addition to starting to reshape... MORE
NEW REVELATIONS CONCERNING NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN BELARUS
The Belarusian government has now selected the official site for a new nuclear power station in Belarus. It has also designated a general planning operation for the plant and may be close to a decision on which company will design the reactor. The information gleaned... MORE
YUSHCHENKO PICKS CHIEF SECURITY ADVISER FROM OPPOSITION CAMP
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has appointed Raisa Bohatyryova as secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). This came as a surprise for many, as Bohatyryova has been one of the leaders of the main opposition force, the Party of Regions (PRU), which is... MORE
TYMOSHENKO CABINET GETS DOWN TO WORK
The coalition of President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defense (NUNS) and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) succeeded in electing Tymoshenko as prime minister on Tuesday, December 18. The coalition appointed her cabinet on the same day. Tymoshenko promised to review gas accords with... MORE