Latest Articles about Middle East
TWO SETBACKS FOR THE KREMLIN AT THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
On January 21 the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) protected its reputation by eschewing the election of Mikhail Margelov as PACE president. Apparently, many members realized that PACE could have discredited itself irreparably by electing a Kremlin-affiliated figure as president of Europe’s leading democracy-promoting... MORE
U.S. Applies Terrorist Designation to Kurdistan Freedom Falcons
Following a full month of Turkish military strikes on bases of the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, the movement appears to have signaled a switch to urban warfare with the January 3 Diyarbakır bombing in southeastern Turkey that killed seven (Anatolia, January... MORE
PUTIN AND MEDVEDEV OPEN THE BULGARIAN GATE FOR GAZPROM
Last week’s official visit to Bulgaria granted Russian President Vladimir Putin an opportunity to show that his power-transfer scheme worked impeccably, as the person standing next to him was Dmitry Medvedev, who had no business in Sofia in his official capacity as first deputy prime... MORE
VAN DER LINDEN’S FAREWELL DEAL WITH PUTIN
On January 17 Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) President Rene van der Linden paid a farewell visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. With van der Linden’s term as PACE president expiring today (January 21), Putin invited him as a token... MORE
WILL PUTIN AND THE SILOVIKI MAKE COMMON CAUSE TO LIMIT MEDVEDEV?
With the Central Election Commission set to register First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as a presidential candidate, observers have again been speculating about the future relationship between Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin’s handpicked successor and Russia’s presumed next president, and Putin himself, who has agreed... MORE
SERDYUKOV’S AUTHORITY GROWS AT MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
Many observers scoffed when Vladimir Putin appointed Anatoly Serdyukov to head the Ministry of Defense in February 2007, because Serdyukov had no experience in national security. Instead, he was known for heading the Federal Tax Service and monitoring financial flows. But apparently the main reason... MORE
MOSCOW RESUMES MAY PARADES TO DEMONSTRATE MILITARY STRENGTH
Full-scale, Soviet-style military parades – with displays of tanks and other military hardware – will return to Red Square beginning May 9. The decision to resume this public display of military might was reportedly taken at a January 12 meeting of top Russian military leaders.... MORE
ALMOST TWO-THIRDS OF RUSSIANS BELIEVE DEMOCRACY IS THE BEST POLITICAL SYSTEM
A poll take by the Russian affiliate of a leading international polling organization has found that Russians believe in democracy but are less certain that it exists at home. The poll, taken by Romir, the Gallup International Association’s exclusive representative in Russia, was conducted June... MORE
Turkey in Denial of al-Qaeda Threat
While the Turkish government would describe itself as a full participant in the “War on Terrorism,” there is a tendency by the public to view this conflict primarily as a struggle against Kurdish militants, and only to a lesser extent against al-Qaeda. Nonetheless, two recent... MORE
WILL MEDVEDEV’S ASCENSION SOLVE GAZPROM’S PROBLEMS?
As Russia wraps up seasonal festivities with the Old Style New Year on January 13, it is beginning to acknowledge changes in the economic climate that are caused by a peculiar combination of over-heating and under-investment. The most acute symptom of this complex malady is... MORE