Latest Articles about The Caucasus
KREMLIN HOLDS NURGALIEV PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR NORTH CAUCASUS SECURITY
As rebel attacks on police increase across the North Caucasus, Moscow is stepping up its activities to prevent large-scale raids in Ingushetia, Chechnya, Dagestan, and Kabardino-Balkaria. Anti-terrorist drills are conducted around-the-clock, involving numerous military and police units (see EDM, August 1). The Kremlin has tapped... MORE
RUSSIAN DENIALS OF AIR RAID ON GEORGIA FLY IN THE FACE OF EVIDENCE
Two Sukhoi fighter-bombers with Russian Air Force markings, flying together from the direction of North Ossetia, intruded by some 80 kilometers into Georgia’s air space on August 6. At 18:20 local time, one of these planes dived from 3,000 meters altitude and dropped a missile... MORE
ARMENIAN OPPOSITION SEEKS SINGLE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
Armenia’s fragmented opposition, reeling from its crushing defeat in recent parliamentary elections, is looking to join forces ahead of the presidential ballot due early next year. Leaders of the country’s main opposition parties have begun consultations on the possibility of fielding a single presidential candidate.... MORE
KREMLIN INTENSIFIES MILITARY BUILD UP IN NORTH CAUCASUS
On July 30 the Kavkaz Center website posted a new statement from Doku Umarov, leader of the Chechen rebels and the North Caucasus insurgency. Umarov declared, “We [the insurgents] are ready for any kind of big event. Many ask when a large-scale attack will be.... MORE
FOREIGN TV CHANNELS CLOSED IN AZERBAIJAN: POLITICS, ECONOMICS, OR SOMETHING ELSE?
Russia’s ORT television, the successor to the first TV station in the Soviet Union, was officially closed in Azerbaijan as of July 11. The decision came as a result of failed negotiations between the governments of Russia and Azerbaijan to continue broadcasting the channel in... MORE
ARMENIA DEEPENS ECONOMIC TIES WITH IRAN
Armenia and Iran have agreed to give new impetus to their bilateral relations and press ahead with the implementation of more multimillion-dollar energy projects. The agreements were announced in Yerevan after the July 20 meeting of their intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation, co-chaired by Iranian... MORE
AZERBAIJAN STATE OIL COMPANY TO BUILD REFINERIES ABROAD
On July 13 the Turkish Energy Markets Regulatory Authority (EMRA) approved a joint proposal by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Turkey’s Turcas Petrol to build a refinery near the Turkish port of Ceyhan. This was the second large-scale, successful initiative by SOCAR... MORE
INTELLIGENTSIA EXCHANGE SPARKS DEBATE, RAISES HOPES IN AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA
The surprise and controversial exchange of intelligentsia delegations between Azerbaijan and Armenia on June 28 generated heated debates in both societies. The move, the first of its kind in the past decade, raised more questions than answers. Each delegation was comprised of five or six... MORE
YEREVAN VOWS “SECOND-GENERATION” REFORMS TO SUSTAIN ROBUST GROWTH
Armenia’s recently reshuffled government has pledged to embark on “second-generation” reforms that it hopes will sustain robust economic growth. According to government statistics, the Armenian economy expanded by 10.2% during the first five months of 2007, putting it on track to register a double-digit growth... MORE
GEORGIAN FLAG RAISED OVER AKHALKALAKI
The flag of Georgia has been flying over the Akhalkalaki military base since June 27, with Georgian troops moving onto the base to replace the last Russian troops. The commander of the Group of Russian Forces in the Transcaucasus (GRVZ), Maj.-General Andrei Popov, and Georgia’s... MORE