GEORGIA’S ROSE REVOLUTION ROOTED IN LAW
By Claude Zullo (12/3/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Pundits in the United States and abroad have had unanimous praise for the swift yet peaceful manner that led to the demise of the Shevardnadze government. Still, some question the legality of the tactics used by Georgia’s opposition movement. A closer look however reveals a transition that was not only brought about within the parameters of the law, but one that was actually brought about through the use of law.DAGESTAN’S POLITICS OF MURDER: THE UNSURPRISING DEATH OF NADIRSHAYKH KHACHILAYEV
By Andrew McGregor (11/19/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Nadirskhaykh Khachilayev’s car was approaching his home in Makhachkala when a passing Lada motorcar opened fire with machine-guns, killing the 44-year-old leader of the Lak community. Police claimed their investigation led to three unidentified Chechen suspects after finding a burnt-out Lada on the outskirts of Makhachkala. While it is possible the Lak leader was the victim of a political assassination, he may have been the victim of a blood feud, arising after the deaths of several ethnic Dargin policemen in the 1998 Islamist assault on Parliament.‘IVANOV DOCTRINE’ REFLECTS MOSCOW’S GROWING CONFIDENCE IN THE CIS AND BEYOND
By Denis Trifonov (11/19/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: On October 2 2003, Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD) released a blueprint for the development of the armed forces. The 73-page document presented by Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov is widely believed to be a draft of Russia’s new military doctrine. While not representing a radical departure from the military doctrine of 2000, the draft updates it in several respects.PRO-RUSSIAN POLITICIAN ACTS AS POWER-BROKER IN GEORGIA POST-ELECTION CRISIS
By Blanka Hancilova (11/19/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: While the Georgian opposition leads public protests against the rigged November 2 parliamentary elections, President Eduard Shevardnadze keeps ignoring calls for his resignation. Besieged in the capital city, Shevardnadze instead chose to seek the backing of regional strongman Aslan Abashidze, leader of the Adjara Autonomous Republic in southwestern Georgia. The call on Abashidze’s support is not an unprecedented development – in a significant move, Shevardnadze visited Abashidze in Batumi in November 2001 as he was challenged by street protesters who demanded the resignation of several members of his government.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.