KADYROV AS RUSSIA’S REGIONAL GENDARME: A BOON FOR CHECHNYA’S REBEL MOVEMENT?
By Kevin Daniel Leahy (11/29/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND:This past April, the speaker of Chechnya’s pro-Moscow parliament, Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, publicly suggested the formation of a new super-republic in the North Caucasus which would include Chechnya, Ingushetia, and possibly Dagestan. The same individual, known to be a close confidant of Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov, repeated this ambitious proposal in August. For his part, Kadyrov gave Abdurakhmanov’s initiative a tentative welcome, remarking that unification was possible “if the peoples of Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan want it, and when Chechnya becomes prosperous”.KAZAKHSTAN LEARNS TO LOVE BORAT
By Ryan Kennedy (11/29/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND:Borat, the popular and controversial character developed by British comedian Sasha Baron Cohen, has given the Kazakhstan government plenty of reasons not to like him. While claiming to be Kazakhstan\'s second more popular news personality, Borat has said that Kazakhstan\'s national drink is fermented horse urine, that the national game involves throwing Uzbeks into a pit, and that, for 3/4 the price of a prostitute in Amsterdam, a person could purchase the same services from Kazakhstan\'s president. Not surprisingly, the reaction of Kazakhstan\'s government to Borat\'s appearance at the MTV Europe Music Awards in November 2005 was very negative.TRANS-ASIA RAIL NETWORK A POTENTIAL BENEFIT TO CENTRAL ASIAN AND CAUCASIAN STATES
By Hooman Peimani (11/15/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Asia’s economy has been growing since the end of the second world war to turn it into a trading house accounting presently for over a quarter of global trade, a trend that is certain to continue in the foreseeable future. The rise of Asia as a major and growing trade hub has necessitated an appropriate cargo transportation infrastructure to facilitate its trade, especially with Europe. While much of the transport is done by lengthy sea routes, numerous projects are at the planning stage to link Europe to Asia through the Caucasus and Central Asia.GEORGIA CUTS LOSSES IN A HARMFUL RUSSIA ROW
By Jaba Devdariani (11/15/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Russia recalled its ambassador from Tbilisi and introduced harsh economic sanctions against Georgia almost immediately after the arrest by the Georgian government of four Russian military officers on charges of espionage on September 27. The officers were released soon afterwards, on September 29, but Russia has continued to pressure Georgia, keeping the sanctions intact and deporting around 700 Georgians for alleged registration violations. Several Russian human rights groups believe that the authorities’ actions against Georgians are tantamount to acts of ‘racial discrimination’, and Georgia is preparing a lawsuit to the European Court of Human Rights.Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024.
Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.
Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024.
Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.