Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
ITERA SUGGESTS REVIVING ZARIT CONSORTIUM FOR CASPIAN EXPLORATION
On March 7 Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov met Igor Makarov, the CEO of Russian gas trader Itera. During the meeting Makarov reiterated Itera's interest in expanded cooperation with Turkmenistan. He also suggested that Zarit, a joint venture founded by Itera and Russian state-run companies Zarubezhneft... MORE
AIR CRASH LAYS BARE FAILURES OF KAZAKH MILITARY REFORM
Kazakhstan’s military has been plagued by financial mismanagement, corruption and bribery, a lack of professionalism, and poor housing conditions for military officers. The recent Kazakh air force fighter jet crash in Central Kazakhstan -- which killed two military pilots -- is the result of these... MORE
RUSSIA RECLAIMING CENTRAL ASIA AS SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov paid an official visit to Tashkent on March 7, describing Uzbekistan as Russia’s closest partner in Central Asia. This marked the first occasion that a Russian prime minister has visited Tashkent since 1999. Talks centered on President Islam Karimov’s ideas... MORE
PROBLEMS WITH TREATY MAY TURN INTO STANDOFF BETWEEN KREMLIN AND TATAR AUTHORITIES
The fate of the power-sharing treaty between the Russian federal authorities and the Republic of Tatarstan demonstrates how unpredictable political life in Russia has become. On February 21 the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) rejected the power-sharing treaty, even though it had been ratified... MORE
UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE A PRIORITY FOR YUSHCHENKO
The language card is being played in Ukraine again, which often happens when elections loom. On February 22 Ukraine’s parliament, which is dominated by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions (PRU), decided to vote by the end of July on a bill that grants... MORE
THE SHADOW OF FEBRUARY 1917 HANGS OVER PUTIN’S FINAL YEAR
Yesterday’s legislative elections in 14 regions of the Russian Federation have not been the focus of political debates in Moscow during the last few weeks. Rather, it was an historic event that was typically downplayed by Soviet historiography – the Revolution of February 1917. Indeed,... MORE
GEORGIA’S STRATEGIC PARTNER GETS HELP WHEN IT NEEDS IT
Georgia is boosting its troop contributions to U.S.- and NATO-led operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Mikheil Saakashvili announced on March 9 while on a visit to Japan. The Georgian parliament is likely to approve the president’s forthcoming request by a wide margin. In Tbilisi,... MORE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CONDEMNS, RUSSIA SUPPORTS, LATEST ABKHAZ ELECTION
On March 4 residents of Abkhazia held parliamentary elections. According to officials in this separatist region of Georgia, 130,000 registered voters (a 47.25% turnout) chose among 108 candidates vying for 35 seats (Apsnypress, March 5). However, before the outbreak of hostilities Tbilisi had put the... MORE
MOSCOW’S “HEALTHY FORCES” SET BACK IN ESTONIA’S PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
Pro-Western, pro-market parties won a convincing victory in Estonia’s March 4 parliamentary elections, despite Moscow’s efforts to prevent such an outcome. This election’s political ramifications -- like those of Estonia’s elections in the early and mid-1990s -- transcend the country’s confines. A decade ago, election... MORE
MOLDOVA REFUSES MASS CONFERRAL OF ROMANIAN CITIZENSHIP
In a series of statements on March 3 through 7, Moldova reacted furiously to Romania’s ongoing attempts to confer Romanian citizenship to Moldova’s residents en masse. With Romania’s accession to the European Union effective January 1, Bucharest believes that a large part of Moldova’s population... MORE