Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE PARTY OF AZERBAIJAN RALLIES FOR AZERIS IN IRAN
Parliamentary elections in November 2005 brought severe negative consequences for the Azerbaijani opposition. Most opposition parties are in a state of collapse; others have seen their activities stagnate because they have no results to show for the past 12 years. Yet, recent events suggest that... MORE
ILVES WINS ESTONIA’S PRESIDENCY
Toomas Hendrik Ilves won Estonia’s presidency on September 23 by the narrowest possible margin, with 174 votes in his favor -- just one vote more than the 173 necessary -- in the 345-strong electoral college. The incumbent president, Arnold Ruutel, received 162 votes. Nine electoral... MORE
RUSSIA SEEKS ENTREE INTO EUROPE’S AVIATION MARKET
Recently Vneshtorgbank, Moscow’s state owned foreign trade bank, spent about a billion dollars to buy 5.02% of the shares of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Corporation (EADS). The revelation of this purchase is a clear sign, corroborated by press reports, that Moscow seeks a... MORE
ABKHAZIA REQUESTS GEORGIAN APOLOGY AND DREADS NEW WAR
Abkhaz separatists have dismissed Tbilisi’s “fresh roadmap” to resolve Georgia’s secessionist conflicts. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili proposed the new approach in his address to the UN General Assembly on September 22. Saakashvili called for a direct Georgian-Abkhaz dialogue, but he hinted that force could become... MORE
LIGHT SENTENCES FOR HIGH-PROFILE RUSSIAN HAZING CASE
A high-profile military hazing trial in Chelyabinsk ended yesterday, September 26. Private Andrei Sychyov had his legs amputated last January after being abused in the barracks and is still hospitalized today. Three conscript soldiers were on trial in Chelyabinsk, though only Junior Sergeant Alexander Sivyakov... MORE
YUSHCHENKO, YANUKOVYCH LOCK HORNS OVER RESPECTIVE POWERS
President Viktor Yushchenko is slowly coming to the realization that he has to co-exist with a disobedient prime minister that he cannot dismiss. This is a consequence of the constitutional reform that came into effect this year, curtailing presidential powers, and of the Yushchenko faction’s... MORE
KYRGYZSTAN’S ENERGY SECTOR LOSES INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES DUE TO CORRUPTION
When Kyrgyzstan became independent in 1991, the energy sector signified a rare hope for the country’s future economic development. Today, Kyrgyzstan’s hydro-energy sector represents a significant part of the country’s economy. It also remains a significant source of corruption. After the March 24 Tulip Revolution... MORE
REBEL “NOGAI BATTALION” SPURS RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES TO OFFER ASSISTANCE TO NOGAI MINORITY
"The leaders of bandit formations plan to carry out several terrorist acts in several republics of the North Caucasus,” Dagestan’s interior minister, Adilgirei Magomedtagirov, told journalists on September 14. But despite the broad statement by Magomedtagirov, who has fully recovered from a recent attempt on... MORE
YANUKOVYCH AND ALLIES ASSERTING AUTHORITY OVER FOREIGN POLICY
Operating through coalition mechanisms that President Viktor Yushchenko has helped create, the Party of Regions is de facto appropriating the president’s formal authority to shape foreign policy. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych’s September 13-14 announcements in Brussels, unilaterally turning down a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP)... MORE
SIX WAYS FOR YANUKOVYCH AND ALLIES TO CIRCUMVENT YUSHCHENKO ON FOREIGN POLICY
The accustomed division of prerogatives in Ukraine, whereby the president handles foreign policy while the prime minister oversees the economy, is no longer operational. The constitutional reform has shifted the balance of power in prime minister’s favor. By turning down a NATO-Ukraine Membership Action Plan,... MORE