Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
RUSSIA’S AMBITIOUS RAILWAY VISION FOR EASTERN SIBERIA FACES REALITY CHECK
Russia has announced an extraordinary project to build a transcontinental Yakutsk-Magadan-Anadyr-Alaska rail link, which would include the world's longest subsea tunnel under the Bering Strait. However, the news comes as a reminder that Russia's major railway projects in the East tend to be loss-making and... MORE
TAJIKISTAN RESTATES ITS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH RUSSIA, WHILE SENDING MIXED SIGNALS
Hamrokhon Zarifi, Tajikistan’s foreign minister, recently confirmed that Tajikistan’s strategic interests are served mainly through its partnership with Russia. “Russia was, is, and will remain our strategic partner and ally. We have commitments to each other, and, on our part, we will strictly fulfill them,”... MORE
ECONOMIC THINKING IN THE KREMLIN SHIFTS IN THE “MUNICH” DIRECTION
The organizers of the Russian Economic Forum in London never thought that the Kremlin would sanction their high-profile event. The 10th annual meeting, aimed at bringing together Western investors and Russian business leaders, opened April 22 with only a few scheduled presentations by Russian officials,... MORE
IS COMPROMISE POSSIBLE IN UKRAINE?
Radicalism is apparently giving way to compromise in the Ukrainian political crisis. President Viktor Yushchenko, aware of the impossibility of holding a snap election as early as May 27, as prescribed by his April 2 parliament dissolution decree, has signaled his readiness to suspend the... MORE
KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT BRINGS VIOLENT END TO OPPOSITION RALLIES
On April 19 the Kyrgyz police violently ended the week-long protests staged by opponents of the government. The protests were staged by two opposition blocs, the United Front and For Reforms, and brought up to 12,000 people into central Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital. The police... MORE
MILINKEVICH TRAVELS TO CHERNOBYL ZONE
As the 21st anniversary of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl approaches, it is becoming a focal point of both government and opposition activity. It remains a potentially divisive issue because of cutbacks in aid to former liquidators and affected young people, as well as government... MORE
RESISTANCE GROWING TO THE BALTIC SEABED PIPELINE PROJECT
The Russo-German project for a gas pipeline on the Baltic seabed is meeting with growing skepticism and resistance in the region. The Gazprom-led consortium, Nord Stream, has now unwittingly added to those concerns. It has distributed a poorly substantiated, omission-fraught information package to countries around... MORE
QUESTIONS MULTIPLY ON THE BALTIC SEABED PIPELINE PROJECT’S VIABILITY
Gazprom-led Nord Stream, the Russo-German project for a gas pipeline on the Baltic seabed, is running behind schedule on construction of the overland section in Russia and faces cost projection overruns on the seabed section. If actually carried out, the project might end up operating... MORE
NORTH CAUCASUS-TESTED STRATEGIES USED TO COUNTER MARCH OF THE DISCONTENTED
Russian police severely beat many participants in the April 14-15 demonstrations against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Known as the “March of the Discontented,” the rallies were organized by the “Other Russia” movement. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s deputy press secretary, dismissed the recent... MORE
KAZAKH OPPOSITION FORCES PRESS GOVERNMENT FOR GENUINE DEMOCRACY
On April 12 dozens of opposition activists picketed the Department of Justice office in Almaty, demanding the immediate registration of Alga (Forward), an opposition party intended as the successor to the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan. Police forces watched calmly and did not interfere as... MORE