Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
TAJIKISTAN FOSTERS SECURITY LINKS WITH IRAN
Tajikistan has recently implemented measures aimed at fostering its military and security cooperation with Iran, as it seeks to diversify its foreign sources for security assistance. On April 20 Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Khayrulloyev met his Iranian counterpart, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, in Tehran and... MORE
MOSCOW THWARTS JOINT PRESIDENTIAL DECLARATION ON TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIA
On May 6, the Russian government reneged on a recent, informal understanding between Ministers of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and Salome Zourabichvili regarding a timetable for the closure of Russian bases and withdrawal of troops from Georgia. That informal understanding had envisaged starting the withdrawal... MORE
BELARUS TRIGGERS DISPUTE WITH UKRAINE
During the annual April 26 commemoration of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Belarusian authorities detained several foreign nationals, including citizens of Russia and Ukraine. The arrests that occurred at one of the commemorations in Minsk have caused serious tensions with Kyiv, after the Belarusian authorities initially... MORE
BIG FISH LARGELY UNAFFECTED AS YEREVAN CRACKS DOWN ON TAX EVASION
The Armenian authorities have released new data on Armenia's leading corporate taxpayers. The previously unreleased data reveal the first results of the government's new crackdown on tax evasion. The figures suggest that, while the administration of President Robert Kocharian is on course to achieve a... MORE
IDLE PETRO-RUBLES ARE A RECIPE FOR STAGFLATION
Russia's economy is growing at a pace that invites envy from most European states. The ruble holds steady against the dollar, and Russia's trade balance for the first quarter of this year shows a record $25.9 billion. Its Central Bank, opting for a euro-shift in... MORE
MOSCOW NOT COMING TO TERMS WITH SOVIET OCCUPATION OF BALTIC STATES
Alone among the three Baltic heads of state, Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga will attend the Moscow festivities for the 60th anniversary of Victory Day. Her stated goal in accepting the invitation is to refute Russia's official version of history about the Baltic states having freely... MORE
RUSSIAN HISTORIANS DENOUNCE RE-STALINIZATION
With the 60th anniversary Victory Day celebrations set for May 9, the architect of perestroika and a leading historian of that period have spoken out against what they both see as the rehabilitation of Joseph Stalin. There are ample signs that something like a rehabilitation... MORE
MOSCOW CONTINUES TO UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY IN INDEPENDENT UKRAINE
Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans to purchase Leonid Brezhnev's residence in the Crimea have collapsed. USSR Dacha No.1, "Hlitsyniya," is among the Ukrainian properties excluded from privatization. Nevertheless, Putin attempted to acquire it from Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma as a token of gratitude for supporting... MORE
RUSSIA EYES GREATER STATE CONTROL OVER SAKHALIN HYDROCARBON PROJECTS
Gazprom's efforts to merge with the state-owned oil firm Rosneft appear to be part of a larger strategy to boost state-control over Russia's energy sector. The Gazprom-Rosneft merger, which likely will wrap up before Gazprom's June shareholder meeting, will raise the government's stake in Gazprom... MORE
BUSH SUPPORTIVE, EU A BYSTANDER ON BALTIC VERSUS SOVIET VISION OF HISTORY
On the eve of the Moscow celebrations of the Soviet victory in the Second World War, the Baltic states prepare to commemorate at home the event that sealed for them a half-century of captivity. The Kremlin expected to isolate the Baltic states by highlighting the... MORE