09.11.2007
Eurasia: News In Review
Central Asia and Eastern Europe
and their Relations with Russia
October-November, 2007The 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. This news review is part of SRAS's monthly "obzor" publications. For more reviews, see the newsletter for this corresponding month. To receive the free monthly newsletter and obzori by email, simply sign up. Georgia Perhaps the biggest news out of the countries of the former Soviet Union this month comes from Georgia. There, anti-government demonstrators have been protesting for days, despite increasingly aggressive actions taken by the government to disperse them. The protesters say that the government is corrupt and is mismanaging the economy. Interestingly, the same government has been held up by many Western observers as a model of democratic and economic reform. Some say this opinion only placates a government that controls an important energy pipeline that will deliver natural gas to the West. Others, however, say that anti-government protesters are themselves funded and aided by Russia, who also wants control in the region. Georgia to Hold Early Elections (NPR broadcast)
Squares off with Russia as well as the government endures more protests. Georgian police use force to break up protest
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili on Wednesday declared a 15-day countrywide state of emergency after sending in riot police to battle protesters and special forces stormed a leading opposition TV station. Georgian revolution turns anti-Russian
Opposition leaders unexpectedly sent part of the protesters to the Russian embassy. They bore slogans saying, "Moscow, you can have Saakashvili," which is confusing because the opposition knows that Moscow has no need for the Georgian leader. Row of Convenience. Georgia capitalizes on the row with Russia
Georgian authorities have accused Russia of backing "treasonable activities" of ex-Defense Minister Irakly Okruashvili and prominent businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili in the first official statement of this kind. Georgia's murky politics. An ex-minister changes his tune.
Georgia’s former defence minister, who was arrested on suspicion of numerous offences after coming out in opposition to President Mikhail Saakashvili, has in a televised interview recanted his accusations that Mr Saakashvili ordered the murder of a political opponent. Ukraine IS BIG BROTHER WATCHING UKRAINIANS?
The Ukrainian government has simplified the procedure allowing the special services and police to procure confidential information about citizens. Ukraine To Cede Ownership Rights To Gas To Gazprom
Ukraine will clear a $1.2 billion share of its debt for Russian natural gas by ceding to Russian company Gazprom Export ownership rights to gas stored in underground depots. UkrGazEnergo and Naftogaz Ukrayiny would pay the remainder of the debt - $929 million - from their own funds. UKRAINE'S "HUNGER" FOR HISTORICAL JUSTICE
Yes, at least three million hapless Ukrainians died of hunger, disease and privation in 1932-1933, and No, they shouldn't be forgotten - by anyone. Remaking History in a Kiev Museum
Constructing a new national identity often requires a new vision of the past. In Ukraine, this phenomenon can be seen in several of Kiev's museums. US Advises New Government to Exclude "Big Money" From Politics
Excluding big business from politics is the main task for the future government, believes former US ambassador to Ukraine William Miller. Putin says Russia ready to work with any government in Ukraine
The president said there were up to 17 million ethnic Russians in Ukraine and some 4 million Ukrainians, including temporary residents, in Russia. Is Ukraine more of a democracy than Russia?
Strange though it may seem, the Ukrainian Orange forces are similar to the most radical Russian parties in their approach to political problems. In Ukraine, fiery Tymoshenko revives Orange hopes.
After producing a stunning upset in Ukraine's emergency parliamentary polls last week, she is poised to retake the prime ministry as head of a fresh Western-leaning Orange coalition. Why Yulia Tymoshenko Is A Political Zero
Tymoshenko promises everything to everybody. It is utterly pointless to search for consistency, logic or credible figures in her "program." Warning: article from the eXile - it is informed, interesting, and potentially offensive in its language and the links that surround it. Regional Issues No Deal at Caspian Summit on Sharing Sea
Leaders of the five nations around the Caspian Sea failed to agree Tuesday on how to divide the inland water body, a prize at the center of the global struggle for access to oil and natural gas. DESPITE LACK OF PROGRESS, CASPIAN SUMMIT LEAVES PARTICIPANTS OPTIMISTIC
A Caspian Sea summit, held October 16 in Tehran, achieved no substantive progress on the central issue of the territorial division of the seabed. Yet, participants seemed very pleased with the outcome. Three post-Soviet summits
The three post-Soviet summits that Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe, hosted this past weekend - of the CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) - were a kind of review of Vladimir Putin's presidency, a balancing of the achievements and blunders of his CIS policy over two terms in office. Making Sense Of Post-Soviet Alphabet Soup.
Youth leaders from the four member states of the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development meet today in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku. Baltic States Russia say EU ignores Nazism in Baltic states
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday the European Union was ignoring moves by the bloc's members Estonia and Latvia to glorify Nazism. Stateless in Latvia
After Riga, it's the biggest city in the country and the vast majority of its population are Russian-speakers of Russian origin. Many of them feel they're victimised, denied citizenship by a state punishing them for the sins of the past. "Frozen Conflicts" Breakaway Republics Look To Advance Statehood At Summit
Representatives of the self-proclaimed republics of Abkhazia, Transdniester, and South Ossetia assembled in the Abkhaz capital today for a four-day summit intended to advance the recognition of their statehood. Moldovan President Says Transdniester Solution In Sight
Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin says a solution may be in sight to the 15-year-old "frozen conflict" with the Moscow-backed breakaway region of Transdniester, with international talks producing a draft plan to grant separatists large autonomy and achieve reunification. Moldova looks for a deal
Unlike Georgia, which has two similar frozen conflicts dating from the breakup of the Soviet Union, Moldova straddles nothing more strategic than a river, the Dniestr. Georgia Seeks End To Russian Peacekeepers’ Mandate In Abkhazia
Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia alledgely illegally crossed into Ganmukhuri, detained, and beat the police officers. Russia refuses to replace army commander in Georgia
President Mikhail Saakashvili demanded the sacking of General Sergei Chaban after his soldiers briefly detained Georgian servicemen on Tuesday. Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz politics
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, newly empowered by constitutional changes, has dissolved parliament and called a snap election for December 16th. Journalist Murdered in Central Asia
International pressure is growing on Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan after the assassination of independent journalist Alisher Saipov. Opposition leaders detained in Kyrgyzstan
The Interior Ministry of Kyrgyzstan says police mistook three opposition leaders for "armed criminals" and briefly detained them.
The referendum held in Kyrgyzstan on a new draft constitution "did not comply with the international standards to which Kyrgyzstan has committed itself."
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