News Digest
RUSSIA EASES NATIONALITY RULES
By empty (10/18/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The Russian parliament has simplified the procedure of acquiring Russian citizenship and allowed foreigners to serve in the Russian army. The law on Russian citizenship, adopted last year, was criticised by many as draconian, as it made it extremely difficult for nationals of the former republics of the Soviet Union to acquire Russian citizenship. President Vladimir Putin, who was thought to have backed the law, has heeded the criticism and asked the Duma to review it.UZBEK GOVERNMENT SEEKS TO PROTECT COTTON
By empty (10/17/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The Uzbek government has issued a decree criminalizing attempts to smuggle cotton to neighboring countries, Deutsche Welle reported on 16 October. The Interior Ministry has been ordered to take harsh measures against cotton smugglers. In Uzbekistan pickers are paid 30 soms (about $0.AZERBAIJANI RULING PARTY ACCUSES OPPOSITION OF PLANNING COUP
By empty (10/17/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Ali Akhmedov, who is executive secretary of the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party, told a press conference on the evening of 16 October that Musavat Party activists had tried to storm the Central Election Commission building in order to alter the results of the previous day\'s presidential ballot, an action which, he claimed, was tantamount to seizing power by force. Akhmedov claimed that Musavat Party Chairman Gambar urged his supporters to resort to violence. Akhmedov said the leaders not only of Musavat, but also of the other parties belonging to the Our Azerbaijan bloc that backed Gambar acted as \"stooges of extremist forces\" and thereby placed themselves outside the law, adding that Gambar and the leaders of the other parties should be brought to trial.196 PROTESTERS ARRESTED AFTER AZERBAIJAN ELECTION RIOT
By empty (10/17/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Police in the oil-rich republic of Azerbaijan have arrested 196 people after violent battles between police and protesters over a disputed election, the interior ministry said amid fears of more violence. It said Friday that some 64 police and bystanders caught up in the violence had been hurt, 34 of them seriously, while about 20 of the protesters sustained injuries and one of them, a 51-year-old man, died. Pitched battles broke out on Thursday afternoon between police and opposition supporters who claim that this week\'s presidential election, which handed victory to Ilham Aliyev had been rigged.Visit also
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.