09.07.2009
Eurasia: News In Review
Central Asia and Eastern Europe
and their Relations with Russia
June-July, 2009The following resource is meant to give readers a quick overview of recent events within the FSU but outside of Russia. Much of the news here concerns how Russia and/or the US are affected by these generally small but politically, economically, and militarily important nations. For more reviews, see the newsletter for this corresponding month. To receive the free monthly newsletter and obzori by email, simply sign up. General Russians Outfox U.S. in Latest Great Game
Times are changing in Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous Central Asian republic that not long ago was a hoped-for springboard for Western-style democracy in the former Soviet Union. The president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has steered Kyrgyzstan sharply back into the orbit of Moscow. Russia Recession Sends 'Damaging Waves' Through CIS
Russia's economy is shrinking more than expected, sending "damaging waves" throughout the former Soviet Union. Collapsing industrial production, rising unemployment and capital flight will reduce Russia's gross domestic product by 7.5 percent this year. Scary elections in eastern Europe
Xenophobes and populists have been elected in old European Union members such as the Netherlands too. But their east European counterparts make the westerners seem tame. Slighted By Russia, Ashgabat Courts EU
Officials at the European Commission have attempted to downplay the significance of meetings this week between Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov and EU officials. Baltic States Latvia is saved from bankruptcy
Latvia's prime minister says that he has saved the country from bankruptcy. Valdis Dombrovskis told public radio that the decision late on Thursday to cut 500m lats ($1bn; £607m) from the budget was "very difficult." Welcome to Baltland
In Russian, the Baltic states are called pribaltiya—literally, the "Baltic shore." That infuriates Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians, as do most other attempts to lump them together. The Fall and Rise and Fall Again of the Baltic States
Portraying the Baltic states in their current mess requires more than words and numbers. Only an old-fashioned chart, with a sea monster, a whirlpool, or perhaps a skull and crossbones, would begin to do justice to the plight of what were until recently the shining success stories of the ex-communist world. Latvia's economic woes
LIKE many small countries, Latvia has struggled to attract outsiders' attention. Now it is famous, and hating it. The economic contraction—GDP down nearly a fifth, imports and exports down by more than 40%—is on a scale rarely seen in peacetime. Russian party wins big in Latvia
Nearly complete results from the Central Election Commission indicate that the center-left Harmony Center, a party mainly made up of ethnic Russians, won over one-third of the votes in Riga, Latvia's capital and largest city. Belarus Russia-Belarus "milk war" ends, gas row looms
A row over a ban on imports of Belarussian dairy goods to Russia was resolved on Wednesday, but Moscow demanded payment from Minsk of $230 million in gas arrears. Milk War' Strains Russia-Belarus Ties
Furious over a Russian ban on imported Belarussian milk products, the president of Belarus on Sunday boycotted a planned summit meeting of post-Soviet states whose centerpiece was the start of a joint military force formed by Russia and four of its closest allies. Russia, Belarus up war of words as rift widens
The rift between Russia and Belarus deepened on Sunday when Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko snubbed a security summit in Moscow in protest at Russia's "trade war" against his nation. Georgia Stalin residence symbol of Abkhaz independence
The dacha has become emblematic of this sub-tropical strip of land. It belonged to a Georgian, is now inhabited by an ethnic Abkhaz and has piqued the interest of Russians. Military & Russia Russia Set For A Long 'Continuation War'
Russia was alone to veto the resolution, with the fifth veto power, China, abstaining. An EU diplomat in Tbilisi says the vote was the first shot in a "continuation war" between Russia and Georgia that could last years. Russian military prepares for possible conflict with Georgia
If Moscow were indeed anticipating a possible new Georgian attack, it would have been logical to place forces in forward positions to prevent a sudden assault. But if Russia itself is preparing major military action, using the accusations of Georgian aggression as a pretext. Comment of the Press and information Department on the article ''Zerschmetterter Traum''
Comment of the Press and information Department on the article ''Zerschmetterter Traum'' (''Smashed Dream'') published in today's edition of the German News Magazine ''Der Spiegel.''
Russia Plays A Defector As a Trump To Georgia
Just months after it was embarrassed by the defection of a Russian conscript soldier to Georgia, Russia made a countermove on Friday. It brandished its own military defector, a Georgian officer, apparently seeking to score points in the countries' propaganda war. Georgia warns of security risks as OSCE mission ends
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's mission to Georgia shut down after 17 years Tuesday, prompting Tbilisi to warn that the absence of its observers would increase security risks around the rebel South Ossetia region. Along the Russian-Georgian border, war games or prelude to war
Both Russia and Georgia claim to fear a fresh attack from the other. That's why, each insists, they're staging war games and building up military forces to levels unseen since last August's brief but brutal war over the breakaway Georgian territory of South Ossetia. Georgia and Russia at odds after Caucasus talks
Georgian and Russian officials clashed publicly on Wednesday after one-day talks aimed at avoiding further conflict in the volatile Caucasus region. Russia says 8,500 troops to take part in exercises near Georgia
ABOUT 8,500 Russian troops will take part in military exercises starting this month in the country's North Caucasus region, just north of Georgia, the Russian defence ministry said on Thursday. Dubbed 'Caucasus 2009', the exercises will take place not far from where Russia and Georgia fought a brief war last August, and they come just weeks after the end of NATO war games in Georgia that infuriated Moscow. Russian veto ends UN mission to Georgia
Russia has brought to an end the nearly 16-year-old U.N. observer mission that monitored a cease-fire between Georgia and its breakaway Abkhazia region. Russia exercised its veto power in the U.N. Security Council — toppling a Western plan to extend the life of the U.N. mission for another year, or even two more weeks, to work out a compromise. War with Russia leaves Georgia struggling
Nearly a year after a war with Russia drove tens of thousands of ethnic-Georgian refugees from two rebellious provinces, Georgia continues to struggle with the aftermath of a conflict in which it lost 20 percent of its territory. The Guns of August 2008: Russia's War in Georgia
In the summer of 2008, a conflict that appeared to have begun in the breakaway Georgian territory of South Ossetia rapidly escalated to become the most significant crisis in European security in a decade. Saakashvili on Russia's UN Mission Veto
A failure by Russia to endorse its draft resolution in the Security Council, which made no reference on the Georgia's territorial integrity, is "our diplomatic victory." US Relations US says closer US-Russian ties good for Georgia
The United States is trying to ease worries in Georgia over closer U.S.-Russian ties. Georgia Report Progress In First Talks Of Strategic Partnership
The United States has held its first bilateral meetings with a delegation from Georgia under the auspices of the new U.S.-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, with both sides expressing satisfaction with the progress made in working groups. U.S.-Russia Moscow Summit Presents Last Opportunity to Avoid War in Georgia
During the summit between presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev in London on April 1, it was decided in the words of Obama, "to prepare by the end of this year a legally binding and sufficiently bold" new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Domestic Politics Protesters Attacked at Police Headquarters
Police, some in plain cloths and in masks, armed with batons attacked dozens of protesters from the youth pro-opposition groups, which were rallying outside the Tbilisi police headquarters. Georgia's opposition
First of all, not every opinion poll gives Mikheil Saakashvili a satisfactory approval-rating. Others show that the president has alienated the majority of his countrymen. Opposition Plans 'Large-Scale' Rally during Biden's Visit
White House said last week that the Vice President would visit Georgia and Ukraine on July 20-24 to demonstrate U.S. support "for continued democratic and economic reforms" in the two countries. Abkhazia And The Perils Of 'Independence'
A row of Russian and Abkhaz flags flutter in the Black Sea breeze in front of the stately government headquarters in the Abkhaz capital. Along the winding beachfront promenade, locals point out the properties rumored to be earmarked for Russian investors. Abkhazia prospects uncertain, despite Russian recognition
For Abkhazia, a land of soaring mountains and sub-tropical coast, Russia's recognition was supposed to be a ticket to a bright new future. Or so residents thought. Looking Beyond Georgia's Political Crisis
Fewer people are paying attention to what may prove to be an even more tragic situation -- the very real risk that Georgia may disappear from the map of the democratic world as a result of the actions of a man who cloaks his authoritarian approach with democratic verbiage. Georgia's Democracy Score Lowest in Years
An overall democracy score is an average of ratings for separate categories, involving electoral process; civil society, independent media, national and local governance; judiciary and corruption. Georgian Street Protests Benefit President's Party
Two months of street protests have raised the approval rating of a political party led by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, whom the opposition seeks to force from office. Economy Georgia Says Recession Deepening at Alarming
Georgia's recession is deepening at an "alarming" pace as a result of a two-month political protest that has interrupted trade and spooked investors in the former Soviet state. Georgian Wine, Water Take Back Door to Russia
Three years after Moscow banned agricultural imports from Georgia, a Kremlin-financed business publication claims that Georgian wine, mineral water, fruit and vegetables are now entering Russia via third countries. Georgia Feels Pinch of Lower Investment
Georgia's economy, which had been bolstered by a flood of donor money after last August's war with Russia, has finally succumbed to recession, Prime Minister Nika Gilauri said in an interview. But he said he is confident the country will return to growth next year. Kyrgyzstan US, Kyrgyzstan reach deal on air base use
The United States and Kyrgyzstan have reached a deal for using a Kyrgyz airport to transport U.S. non-lethal military supplies to Afghanistan. Russia unhappy at U.S.-Kyrgyz air base deal
The United States has agreed to pay $180 million to Kyrgyzstan to keep open the last remaining U.S. air base in Central Asia which is used to supply troops fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Kyrgyz troops kill 3 terror suspects in shootout
Kyrgyz security forces killed three alleged members of a terrorist organization in a shootout this weekend, the latest in a series of clashes with militants in this poor Central Asian nation. Obama seeks closer ties with Kyrgyzstan
President Obama has sent a personal message to his Kyrgyzstan counterpart, officials said Thursday, as Washington tries to keep U.S. forces from being evicted from an important air base in the Central Asian nation. Kyrgyzstan softens stance on US military presence
Kyrgyzstan said on Tuesday it was open to talks on keeping a US military presence on its territory, in a possible softening of line over the eviction of a key base for coalition operations in Afghanistan. Kyrgyzstan Insists on U.S. Base Closure
Kyrgyzstan appeared Thursday to rebuff an appeal by President Obama for closer cooperation as Washington sought to retain an American air base there that provides an important staging area for the war in Afghanistan. Ukraine Ukraine party blocks coalition deal
The leader of Ukraine's pro-Moscow Regions Party on Sunday rejected proposals for parliament to elect the president, wrecking the chances of a government coalition with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Gazprom receives Ukraine gas payment for May
Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Monday it had received Ukraine's May gas payment in full, after warnings that a missed payment by Kiev could lead to a new gas crisis. Russia has paid Ukraine for gas transit in 2009
Russia has already paid Ukraine in full for its 2009 gas transit fees, a payment that effectively amounts to a huge loan to the crisis-battered country. Ukraine Seeks 4 Bln Dollars From Europe To Pay for Russian Gas
Ukraine wants to borrow four billion dollars (2.9 billion euros) from European banks to pay for Russian gas to refill its storage facilities. US VP Biden to visit Georgia, Ukraine in July
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Georgia and Ukraine from July 20 to 24 to express support for democratic and economic reforms in both nations. Would the Real Ukraine Please Stand Up
Opinion polls show that Ukraine is a Russian-leaning country, very different from the one described by Western media and the Ukrainian foreign policy elite. "If we were to fantasize, and pretend that [the Russian Prime Minister] Vladimir Putin would run for the post of Ukrainian president. Candidacy of Ambassador of Russia to Ukraine led to bewilderment
According to data of Kommersant newspaper, new Ambassador of Russia to Ukraine will be former Health and Social Development Minister of the RF Mikhail Zurabov. Ukraine election campaign tentatively set to start Sept. 19
Ukraine's presidential election campaign is due to start on September 19, the country's election authorities said on Wednesday citing preliminary calculations. Ukraine's economy plunges 20.3% in first quarter
Ukraine's economy shrank 20.3 percent in the first three months of this year, official data showed on Tuesday, making Ukraine one of the world's worst hit countries in the global economic crisis. Ukraine, Russia and Gas. Energetic blackmail
In blackmail timing can be everything. The governments of Russia and Ukraine have cause to ponder this after failing to extract billions of euros from the European Union in the name of keeping Russian gas flowing to Europe next winter. Find Out More!
Who's Who in Kygyz Politics
Kyrgyzstan's Latest Revolution
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