Field Reports
GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT CONVENES
By Niklas Nilsson (6/11/2008 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On June 7, Georgia held its first Parliamentary session after the Parliamentary elections on May 21. In the elections, the ruling United National Movement (UNM) gained 119 Parliamentary seats out of 150, thus holding a constitutional majority by a wide margin. The Parliamentary session was announced only the day before, a very short notice and apparently a tactic applied to prevent larger opposition demonstrations in connection with the inauguration.
EMOMALI RAKHMON IN SOGHD OBLAST
By Sergey Medrea (6/11/2008 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On May 15, Emomali Rahmon flew to Soghd oblast in northern Tajikistan, with two main points on his agenda: first, to hold an official meeting with the president of Kyrgyzstan, Kurmanbek Bakiev, on water and border issues. Second, to observe the overall socio-political situation in the Soghd oblast and evaluate the fulfillment of the objectives set during this year's annual Presidential message to Parliament. The primary issue concerns measures to prepare for the coming winter.
PRESIDENT BAKIEV APPOINTS BROTHER TO SECURITY SERVICE
By Nurshat Ababakirov (6/11/2008 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On June 3, Kyrgyzstan’s President Kurmanbek Bakiev appointed his brother, Janysh Bakiev, as head of the State Security Service, which is responsible for the personal security of government officials. He has been out of office for almost two years after his dismissal as Deputy Chairman of the National Security Service (NSS), a result of the political scandal surrounding the planting of heroin on Omurbek Tekebaev, an ardent opposition member, in Warsaw’s airport. Within the recent government reshuffle, his return, while generating different interpretations, appears the most sensational.
PUBLIC SHOW: GOVERNMENT RESHUFFLE IN TAJIKISTAN
By Sergey Medrea (3/5/2008 issue of the CACI Analyst)
President Emomali Rahmon once again made newspaper headlines by turning the media’s attention from the ongoing energy crisis to himself, only to reinforce his portrayal of a national “savior.†At a government meeting on January 25-26, Rahmon carried out major government reshufflings, punishing and firing some officials while sparingly complimenting others. The government sitting was meant to sum and review the major achievements and failures of 2007.
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Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, "Promise and Peril in the Caucasus," AFPC Insights, March 30, 2023.
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Putin's War In Ukraine and the Crimean War), 19fourtyfive, January 2, 2023
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Russia Needs Its Own Charles de Gaulle, Foreign Policy, July 21, 2022.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Rethinking Greater Central Asia: American and Western Stakes in the Region and How to Advance Them, June 2022
Oped Svante E. Cornell & Albert Barro, With referendum, Kazakh President pushes for reforms, Euractiv, June 3, 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell Russia's Southern Neighbors Take a Stand, The Hill, May 6, 2022.
Silk Road Paper Johan Engvall, Between Bandits and Bureaucrats: 30 Years of Parliamentary Development in Kyrgyzstan, January 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell, No, The War in Ukraine is not about NATO, The Hill, March 9, 2022.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, Kazakhstan’s Crisis Calls for a Central Asia Policy Reboot, The National Interest, January 34, 2022.
Book S. Frederick Starr and Svante E. Cornell, Strong and Unique: Three Decades of U.S.-Kazakhstan Partnership, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, December 2021.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr & Albert Barro, Political and Economic Reforms in Kazakhstan Under President Tokayev, November 2021.