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:
Sources of Moldova’s Political Chaos: The Partition of State Institutions
May 22, 2013 05:10 PM
The downfall of Moldova’s governing Alliance for European Integration (AEI), and the earlier collapse of Ukraine’s Orange coalition, are comparable processes in their origins and their consequences. There is also one major difference. In Moldova, a pro-Europe team fit to govern under prime-minister-designate Iurie Leanca and Liberal-Democrat leader Vlad Filat has survived the chaos, at least for now (see below); whereas no such team had emerged from the early Orange collapse in Ukraine (see EDM,...
Foreign-Backed Jihadist Movement in Kazakhstan Now Threatens Nearby States as Well
May 22, 2013
The jihadist network in Kazakhstan, inspired and financed by al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the Caucasus Emirate, has shifted from a loose grouping of largely autonomous jamaats into a unified movement that threatens not only...
Forging of Alliance Between Tatar and Bashkir Nationalists Worries Moscow
May 22, 2013
Tatar and Bashkir civil organizations are moving toward the forging of an alliance, regional and Russian experts say. “Bashkir nationalists have tried to find support among Tatar and Ugro-Finnish nationalists for several years,...
Who Controls What: State Institutions and the Power Struggle in Moldova
May 22, 2013
Moldova’s move from one-party Communist rule to coalition government has led straight to conflict for control of state institutions among the coalition’s parties. That conflict has destroyed the governing Alliance for European...
“New Tajikistan”—New Tensions?
May 21, 2013
Tension has gripped Tajikistan over the past several weeks in response to the establishment of a new political party. The founding of this party by reputable political, business and academic elites has awakened the public and...
TURKEY
Breaking News:
Turkish Prime Minister’s Visit to Mongolia
May 9, 2013 04:48 PM
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Mongolia last month (April 11–12) is likely to result in closer bilateral economic cooperation in addition to the two countries’ already well-established cultural, educational and security ties. As is traditional for Turkish high-level guests to Mongolia, Prime Minister Erdogan visited the Tonyukuk monuments near the capital city. He also opened the Konya Cultural Center and Mosque and attended the opening ceremony of Ankara Boulevard in Ula...
UKRAINE
Breaking News:
Growing Sense of Polarization and Escalating Tensions in Crimea Ahead of 69th Anniversary of Crimean Tatar Deportation
May 17, 2013 04:51 PM
Each year on May 18, around 25,000–30,000 Crimean Tatars gather in Crimea’s capital Simferopol to commemorate the 1944 deportation of their parents and grandparents from their historical homeland. They come to Simferopol from all cities and towns and conduct a peaceful meeting organized by the Mejlis—the executive body representing the Crimean Tatars—in front of the Crimean Musical Drama Theater in Simferopol’s Central Square and remember the victims of the mass deportation on guarded and sealed...
KYRGYZSTAN
Breaking News:
Moscow Promotes Airpower and Peacekeeping on Afghanistan-Linked CSTO Agenda (Part Two)
May 7, 2013 05:13 PM
Following the creation in June 2009 of the rapid reaction forces to enhance the military capabilities of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Uzbekistan’s departure from the body in 2012 and the prospect of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) drawdown in Afghanistan, Moscow is trying to further boost the CSTO by developing airpower and peacekeeping capacities currently lacking. These moves are linked to the success Moscow has achieved in elevating the significance of A...
BELARUS
Breaking News:
Tilting at Windmills: Why Do the West’s Belarus Policies Not Succeed?
May 16, 2013 05:07 PM
In Belarus, the second Sunday of May is celebrated as the Day of the National Emblem and Flag. “For a true citizen, there is nothing more sacred than the coat of arms and the flag of his or her country. Looking at them, each one of us feels inseparable from a single large family whose name is the Belarusian people,” President Alyaksandr Lukashenka told the nation on May 10 (http://news.tut.by/politics/347845.html). The official symbols of independent Belarus are the slightly modified insignia of...
GEORGIA
Breaking News:
Anti-Gay Rampage in Tbilisi: Is Impunity Returning to Georgia?
May 21, 2013 04:05 PM
On May 17, several hundred gay rights activists from the organization Identoba (Identity) attempted to hold a rally in central Tbilisi to mark the International Day Against Homophobia (http://www.tabula.ge/ge/story/71188-17-maisis-aqcia-live-feed). Although the government deployed police to protect the demonstrators, thousands of anti-gay mobs led by radical clergy had little difficulty breaking through the fragile police cordons. They brutally attacked gay activists and their sympathizers and c...
RUSSIA
Breaking News:
Forging of Alliance Between Tatar and Bashkir Nationalists Worries Moscow
May 22, 2013 05:18 PM
Tatar and Bashkir civil organizations are moving toward the forging of an alliance, regional and Russian experts say. “Bashkir nationalists have tried to find support among Tatar and Ugro-Finnish nationalists for several years, but their attempts were unsuccessful,” Bashkir analyst Ed Murzin told the Regnum news agency. “Ugro-Finnish peoples along with all other ‘non-titular’ [i.e. non-Bashkir] ethnic groups in Bashkiria were discriminated against by the ethnic nationalist regime of Murtaza Rakh...
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
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December 20, 2011 11:10 AM
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Books and Reports which have been published by The Jamestown Foundation will now be available for a substantial discount on Kindle.
Books can be purchased for $9.95 and Occasional Reports can be purchased for $3.95-$7.95 in the United States.
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Current titles available for purchase on Kindle include:
A History of Islamist Militancy in Pakistani Punjab...
