The Crimea: Europe's Next Flashpoint?
This occasional report by Taras Kuzio examines Russian-Ukraine relations and the future of the Crimea as well as the port of Sevastopol, a key strategic naval base for the Russian navy.
Russian LNG - The Future Geopolitical Battleground
This occasional report addresses the historical shift in the global natural gas industry away from overland pipeline deliveries and toward liquefied natural gas, as well as Russia's move toward becoming a leader in the emerging LNG market.
Breaking News:
Ivanishvili Launches “Georgian Dream” Movement
December 19, 2011 02:12 PM
Georgian billionnaire Bidzina Ivanishvili launched his political movement, “Georgian Dream,” on December 11 in Tbilisi’s State Concert Hall. The venue and format were tailored to one of his core constituencies: the Tbilisi intelligentsia that lost state support after the Soviet era and survives professionally on Ivanishvili’s subsidies (termed as “salaries”). Ivanishvili’s other core constituency is located in his native Sachkere district (within Imereti province, western Georgia), where he muni...
Turkey’s Law on Military Service Exemption
December 19, 2011
On November 30, the Turkish Grand National Assembly passed a law that will allow citizens born before 1983 to avoid military service upon the payment of an exemption. Starting by January 1, 2012, those who comply with the...
Russian Government Displays an Ingrained Lack of Novelty In Dealing With the North Caucasus
December 19, 2011
On December 15, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held his now traditional annual phone-in press conference. During the phone-in, Putin mentioned the North Caucasus 21 times. It appeared that the Prime Minister still credits...
Putin’s Agenda: The Arctic Revival
December 19, 2011
Russian foreign policy under Vladimir Putin is increasingly resorting to gunboat diplomacy (see EDM, December 12). However, another key element in Putin’s agenda has been his aggressive campaign to assert Russian interests in the...
Armenia Steps Up European Integration Drive
December 16, 2011
Armenia appears to be intensifying integration into the European Union, despite Moscow’s unease over the growing EU presence in its former Soviet backyard. The authorities in Yerevan are particularly keen to conclude a...
TURKEY
Breaking News:
Turkey’s Law on Military Service Exemption
December 19, 2011 02:19 PM
On November 30, the Turkish Grand National Assembly passed a law that will allow citizens born before 1983 to avoid military service upon the payment of an exemption. Starting by January 1, 2012, those who comply with the requirements will have a six month-period to pay the equivalent of $16,000 in order to be fully exempted from enlistment (Today’s Zaman, November 30).On the week preceding the Parliament’s vote, the bill, brought forward by the ruling Development and Justice Party (AKP), attrac...
UKRAINE
Breaking News:
New Election Law to Prompt Consolidation of Ukrainian Opposition
December 14, 2011 02:22 PM
On December 8, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych signed the law on parliamentary elections, which parliament passed on November 17. The new law should allow the ruling Party of Regions to win the election scheduled for October 2012, despite its declining popularity. The elections law raises the threshold parties must cross to win seats, thereby eliminating many rivals, and re-introduces a mixed system under which it should be easier for government-backed candidates to win. The new rules shou...
KYRGYZSTAN
Breaking News:
Kyrgyz Parliament to Form New Coalition
December 9, 2011 11:56 AM
Following the recent presidential election, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament is set to form a new ruling coalition. This will be yet another test as to whether the country’s political forces can find a balance between the competing interests among the five political parties represented in the parliament. The country’s new President Almazbek Atambayev’s Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) has declared that it wants to leave the coalition. In his address to the parliament, the faction’s leader, Ch...
BELARUS
Breaking News:
Belarus: A New Army and Deeper Integration With Russia
December 14, 2011 02:29 PM
November 2011 witnessed interesting developments in Belarus: the announcement of the formation of a territorial army by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and a new advisory body called the Council for the Development of an Informational Society (CDIS), run by an existing Operative-Analytical Center and headed by the president with his son Viktar as deputy. More recently, Russia sharply cut gas prices for Belarus for the first quarter of 2012, and in December the Council of the Anti-Crisis Fund of ...
GEORGIA
Breaking News:
Ivanishvili Launches “Georgian Dream” Movement
December 19, 2011 02:12 PM
Georgian billionnaire Bidzina Ivanishvili launched his political movement, “Georgian Dream,” on December 11 in Tbilisi’s State Concert Hall. The venue and format were tailored to one of his core constituencies: the Tbilisi intelligentsia that lost state support after the Soviet era and survives professionally on Ivanishvili’s subsidies (termed as “salaries”). Ivanishvili’s other core constituency is located in his native Sachkere district (within Imereti province, western Georgia), where he muni...
RUSSIA
Breaking News:
Russian Government Displays an Ingrained Lack of Novelty In Dealing With the North Caucasus
December 19, 2011 02:16 PM
On December 15, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held his now traditional annual phone-in press conference. During the phone-in, Putin mentioned the North Caucasus 21 times. It appeared that the Prime Minister still credits himself for bringing Chechnya back under Moscow’s control, as he mentioned the “war with terrorists” in the North Caucasus several times. Asked why he wanted to run for the Russian presidency again, the Prime Minister replied that he could not agree that the problem of str...
Vladimir Socor is a senior fellow of The Jamestown Foundation and regular writer for Eurasia Daily Monitor.
Publications
Eurasia Daily Monitor
Global Terrorism Analysis
China Brief
North Caucasus Analysis
Militant Leadership Monitor
Donate To Jamestown
New From Jamestown
Breaking News:
The Battle for Yemen: Al-Qaeda and the Struggle for Stability
April 21, 2010 10:15 AM
The Battle for Yemen is a rare and comprehensive volume that tackles the facets of instability that currently plague Yemen. It offers a wealth of analysis and keen observations from the experts of The Jamestown Foundation, who have monitored the developments within Yemen since 2004. Combining indigenous sources with original analytical insights, this book represents a vital research tool for those seeking a detailed account of Yemen's struggle for stability, the various movements that shape the ...
