Eurasia / Features
Displaced from Karabakh watch reconstruction process with hope, concern
Azerbaijani IDPs are eager to return home. But they are uncertain about how their new lives are going to look.
Armenia’s Pashinyan, Turkey’s Erdogan set for unprecedented face-to-face Prague meeting
Encounter is “huge” says analyst. However, hopes for a breakthrough in resolving Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict are low.
_Cropped_1664968887.jpeg)
Mongolia consumers feel weight of inflation as food prices rise
Each morning, food distributor Suren Bat-Tur goes to the Bars wholesale food market in Ulaanbaatar to purchase produce for resale. Lately, the mushrooms, coriander, tomatoes and other grocery items he buys have hit eye-watering prices.
Central Asians targeted in Russia’s desperate mobilisation drive
Rights activists insist Central Asian labourers are being conned.
Georgia’s border clogged with thousands of Russians fleeing the Kremlin’s mobilisation
After Vladimir Putin escalated the war in Ukraine with a mobilisation order, thousands of Russians are trying to enter Georgia to avoid being drafted and sent to the front lines in the war in Ukraine.
More pain stored up for Emerging Europe in 2023
Government efforts to shield populations from the energy crisis and rampant inflation have shifted the economic impact to next year, says the EBRD as it downgrades GDP growth forecasts for 2023.
PANNIER: In Turkmenistan, new president maintains course into the abyss
Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the head of state who rarely smiles, has also given his country little reason to do so.
Kazakhstan shows generous side amid Russian stampede, but tensions are rising
Pressure to accommodate draft dodgers makes it difficult for a country that nationalists in Russia have targeted with veiled threats over claims to northern territories.
Kazakhstan offers Europe chance to kick its Russian uranium habit
Obstacle to hopes is Russia’s ownership of 40% of world's uranium conversion infrastructure, vital to making nuclear fuel.
Azerbaijani offensive leaves Armenia shaken
The attacks marked the first time in the three-decade conflict that such heavy fighting has taken place on the territory of Armenia itself.
Russian media airing increasingly Armenia-sceptic narrative
Armenians could usually rely on favourable coverage from the media of its strategic ally. Following another escalation, that no longer seems to be the case.
PANNIER: As Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan descend into another border war, there’s no-one to stop the fighting
Though Russia has offered to mediate, a feeling prevails among some parties that the Kremlin is supportive of Tajik strongman Rahmon.
Could Mongolia host a China-Russia oil pipeline?
Russia proudly unveiled plans in 2019 to build a second natural gas pipeline to China, this time traversing Mongolia. As the EU drives to sever all energy ties with Russia, Moscow now appears to be pushing for an oil pipeline too.
For Armenians, CSTO is missing in action
The Russia-led security bloc is supposed to oblige members to come to one another’s defence. But its response so far to Azerbaijan’s attack on Armenia has been anaemic.
_2.jpg)
Kazakhstan: Police locate sense of humour, drop case against satirist
Most visitors to the Instagram account are aware it is not a news website.
Amid global energy crisis Balkan states reach out to energy-rich Azerbaijan
With the deepening energy crisis in the West triggered by Russia's intervention in Ukraine, European countries including Bulgaria and Serbia are eyeing alternative suppliers for additional natural gas volumes.
Kyrgyzstan: Kumtor, cloak and dagger
Since Kyrgyzstan seized the gold mine last year, it has been the source of constant scandal.
Junked American cars do a roaring business in Georgia
When cars die in the U.S., they often find a second life in the Caucasus.
Kazakhstan: Political reset or more old-style authoritarianism?
The president promises reform, but don't expect political pluralism.
Campaigners push for rethink of road through Georgia’s historic Khada valley
Opponents of the road project backed by IFIs say it will lower residents’ quality of life and make Georgia more vulnerable to its northern neighbour Russia.
