If you really want to hear about it ...  
In anti-hero Holden Caulfield, American novelist J D Salinger, who died last week at the age of 91, created a character the world instinctively understood. Soviet Union authorities even put translations of The Catcher in the Rye, which came out in 1951, in schools, unaware that the critique of small-town values also fueled rebellious thought among teenagers behind the Iron Curtain. - Nikola Krastev (Feb 8, '10)

Ukraine poll may deliver oil to Europe
Europe's need for secure fuel sources could be met in part by an oil pipeline that already runs across Ukraine and serves that country with fuel from Russia. The pipeline could, instead, deliver Caspian oil to Europe while bypassing Russia and Turkey. Sunday's presidential election run-off might hold the key. - Robert M Cutler (Feb 4, '10)

Gazprom gives half-nod to poor outlook
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, faced with falling revenues and profits, will focus this year on marketing rather than investment into field development. That spells trouble down the road once external and internal demand recovers. - Vladimir Socor (Feb 4, '10)

Two dozen jailed in Turkmen grain trial
The Turkmen public was given unprecedented access to see two dozen people in the grain and baking industries sentenced with fines or jail terms of up to 14 years for exaggerating output figures. Yet the problem starts at the top with unrealistic national goals, and the possibility of riches if these are achieved. (Feb 2, '10)

Methane is laughing gas for oligarchs
Evraz, whose Ulyanovskaya mine holds the record for Russia's worst mining disaster, makes little reference in its financial reports to mine accidents or their impact on revenue and profit. As the debt-burdened company closes down another mine for a methane investigation, the miners' union laments the sector's loss of prestige and subsequent rising death toll. - John Helmer (Feb 1, '10)

Reconfiguring Nabucco
Europe's continuing efforts to secure natural gas from Central Asia focused this month on the White Stream gas project, which would bypass Russia and Turkey, while a separate meeting involving Iraq and the European Union points to an increased role for Iraq in the key Nabucco pipeline. - Robert M Cutler (Jan 27, '10)

Unlikely alliance of violence in Russia
From being pro-West to pro-Kremlin, the beliefs of Russian youth have undergone a roller-coaster ride over the past 20 years. Nowadays, extremist nationalism is on the rise, with violence seen as a legitimate tool to fight for a "white Russia" and against the Kremlin elite. In this struggle, Muslim militants are becoming at least temporary allies. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Jan 20, '10)

Kazakhs weigh gains from customs pact
Kazakhstan's businesses may suffer from the customs bloc with Russia and Belarus that came into force this month, as domestic producers face competition from cheap imports and the possibility of higher inflation. That may be the price for encouraging local Russians to stay in the country and not seek riches further north. - Daulet Kanagatuly (Jan 19, '10)

Gazprom loses shine
The bright future once forecast for Gazprom, Russia's gas monopoly, is starting to look less substantial as profits decline and growth in global supply of gas outpaces demand. No less worrying for the company is Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's recent call for an end to the economy's heavy reliance on hydrocarbon sales. (Jan 14, '10)

Russia, China, Iran redraw energy map
Drowned out by the United States-driven cacophony over Tehran's alleged belligerence is news of the inauguration of a pipeline connecting Iran's northern Caspian region with Turkmenistan's vast gas reserves. Trumping the sole superpower and its European allies, Ashgabat has committed its entire gas exports to China, Russia and Iran. And Tehran - "increasingly isolated" according to Washington - finds itself at the center of a newly emerging economic axis. - M K Bhadrakumar (Jan 7, '10)

Russia, China keep military
toehold in Yemen
The failed Christmas Day airliner bombing attempt has underscored Washington's commitment to poverty-stricken, al-Qaeda-infested Yemen, a "vital counter-terrorism partner" of the United States. Yet Yemen’s multimillion-dollar military modernization program is overwhelmingly centered not on Washington, but on Moscow and Beijing. (Jan 6, '10)

Russia resumes gas imports from Turkmenistan
The agreement by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Turkmenistan's Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov to resume gas trade between the two countries will bring relief to Turkmenistan's treasury. It also underlines Russia's diminished role in the affairs of its Central Asian neighbor. - Vladimir Socor (Jan 5, '10)

Tajiks feel pinch in funding dam
The Tajikistan government, desperately in need of cash to complete what will be the world’s highest dam and the related Rogun hydroelectric plant, denies it is forcing workers and even students to come up with the funds. The project, which will ease or even end damaging power cuts, has strong domestic backing, but feeding the family is already hard enough. - Jahongir Boboev (Jan 5, '10)

Russia-India ties sour in Central Asia
Moscow's heavy-handed attempts to curb China's influence in Central Asia by forging a regional security bloc and bolstering links with ally India are foundering due to Beijing's more popular economic approach and resentment in the "Stans" over the Soviet legacy. At the same time, links between Moscow and New Delhi have been marred by crude diplomacy. - Peter Lee (Jan 4, '10)

Putin opens oil-export route
The inauguration by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of an oil-export route from the Russian far east port of Kozmino, east of Vladivostok, will allow intensive development of oil production in eastern Siberia and help to drive Russia's oil sales to China. (Jan 4, '10)

SPENGLER
THE ROVING EYE
China plays Pipelineistan
While China is at the forefront of moves toward green energy supplies, it is leaving nothing to chance. Imported oil and gas are still crucial - and will be for a long time - to its economic growth, and Central Asia is key to Beijing's wide-ranging energy strategy. - Pepe Escobar (Dec 23, '09)

China resets Central Asia engagement terms
When Kazakhstan's president this month joined Central Asian leaders to laud a gas pipeline that will take the region's gas to China's industrial heartland, he'd just told Western miners they would be shunned unless they gave back to his country's development. His confidence is testament to China's use of patient diplomacy to muscle in on the great game and divert the region's allegiances from West to East. - M K Bhadrakumar (Dec 23, '09)

A delicate dance of power
The arrival of China in Central Asia as a key player in the development of that region's energy resources confirms amid the disorder of the past decade-and-a-half a pattern that may help to gauge how the present nexus of power partnerships may continue. - Robert M Cutler (Dec 23, '09)

Life and premature death of Pax Obamicana The apparent fecklessness of the president of the United States reflects the gravity of the strategic problems in Central and South Asia. Those who wanted an end to US hegemony will get what they wished for. But they won't like it. (Dec 23, '09)

Rusal strains HK to the limit
The strain of accommodating efforts by Russia's United Company Rusal, one of the world's leading aluminum producers, to sell and list shares in Hong Kong appears to be testing to the limit the local market authorities. On the one side, this is business. On the other, there are certain rules to follow. John Helmer (Dec 22, '09)

Kazakhstan mulls China land deal
Vast empty spaces of Kazakhstan may soon be populated by Chinese farmers - 15 million, according to opponents - if President Nursultan Nazarbayev follows through on what he says is Chinese interest in renting 1 million hectares of Kazakh farmland. (Dec 18, '09)

Deripaska loses UK trial appeal
Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska has lost his fight to avoid a court trial of claims that he defrauded former partner Michael Cherney, but appears determined to continue his battle to sell a stake of his aluminum company on the Hong Kong Exchange. - John Helmer (Dec 17, '09)

Russia labors as neighbors do deals
Moscow insists that the Turkmenistan-China pipeline is not of concern to Russia, which also looks to the Central Asian country for energy supplies. Yet the speed with which the pipeline was agreed to and built contrasts strongly with the Kremlin's labored efforts to do deals with Beijing and its own negotiations with the Turkmen leadership. - Sergei Blagov (Dec 16, '09)

Turkey's Kurd initiative goes up in smoke
The banning of Turkey's Kurdish-based Democratic Society Party by a constitutional court has sparked violent protests across the country. The turmoil comes after the government had moved to broaden the rights of the 12-million-strong ethnic Kurdish minority in hopes of ending decades of conflict. - Stephen Starr
(Dec 15, '09)

China ends Russia's grip on Turkmen gas
The opening of a 1,833-kilometer pipeline from Turkmenistan to China this week ends Russia's grip on the Central Asian country's natural-gas exports. Backers of the proposed Nabucco pipeline to Europe will also gain heart from the success of the Turkmen-Chinese project. (Dec 15, '09)

Uzbekistan damages power network
The decision by Uzbekistan to officially quit the Central Asia power system affects all countries in the region, particularly Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The move also brings its own domestic problems, notably providing sufficient power during peak demand. (Dec 14, '09)

India displays multi-vector diplomacy
Converging regional interests and expanding nuclear and defense ties have put India-Russia relations on a positive trajectory. India is adjusting to the new balance of global economic power and the Barack Obama administration's shifting approach to South Asia, while both Moscow and New Delhi fear "collateral damage" to their national security should the Afghan situation worsen. - M K Bhadrakumar (Dec 8, '09)

Putin delivers a presidential display
In a heavily choreographed question-and-answer session, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he would consider running for president in 2012, as has incumbent Dmitry Medvedev. During the four-hour televised appearance, Putin also sought to reassure a jittery public reeling from an ongoing economic crisis and last week's bombing of a luxury train. (Dec 4, '09)

Azerbaijan looks beyond Turkey
Azerbaijan is casting around for more export routes for its gas, while bogged down in talks on terms to supply gas for use in and transit through Turkey. An agreement with Bulgaria poses ambitious technical challenges, while Iran appears to have no upper limit in its potential requirements. - Robert M Cutler (Dec 3, '09)

Deripaska gives way as Rusal IPO stalls
One piece of the jigsaw Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska has been trying to put together to revive his United Co Rusal has fallen into place, with more than 70 creditor banks at last agreeing to a debt restructuring. Another piece, a US$2 billion share sale in Hong Kong, has been left on the table. Deripaska, however, may no longer be a key player and stakeholder. - John Helmer (Dec 3, '09)

THE ROVING EYE
China bemused by flat Europe
In theory, Europe now has a unified voice. But while Europeans were expecting bubbly champagne, they were handed flat cola in the form of the new European Council president, Belgian Herman van Rompuy, and quasi-EU foreign affairs minister, Baroness Catherine Ashton. China might well ask the immortal 1970s Henry Kissinger question: "Which number do I dial when I want to talk to Europe?" (Dec 1, '09)

Herat enjoys a gold rush
Afghanistan is increasingly recognized as rich in mineral resources, which lie largely untapped due to dismal security and the absence of a strong government. That leaves the door open for intrepid individuals with an eye for what they hope is gold and the willingness to wield basic mining tools. - Mohammad Ishaq Quraishi (Nov 30, '09)

Moscow retreats
from Ukraine bypass strategy
Russia has made clear that the Nord Stream and South Stream pipelines will not be used to divert gas from Ukraine's transit pipelines to Europe, a change of stance that will be welcomed by Moscow-friendly parties in Ukraine before January's presidential election campaign. - Vladimir Socor (Nov 25, '09)

Rusal's crossroads - Russia, Libya or China
Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, international creditor banks and the Kremlin should know this week if shares of his debt-burdened United Company Rusal can be listed in the Chinese special region of Hong Kong. Closely watching are Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, a potential investor; the government of Guinea, source of much of Rusal's raw supplies; and China - which recognizes in Guinea a source of a much-needed product if Rusal is out of the way. - John Helmer (Nov 24, '09)

Turkey's radioactive waltz with Russia ends
The cancelation of a tender giving a Russian company the right to build Turkey's first nuclear power plant risks alienating the government in Moscow. The alternative, however, could have given too much power of a different kind to Russia, on which Turkey already depends for much of its energy supplies. (Nov 24, '09)

Medvedev urges change to economy
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in further signs of distancing himself from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, has called for a change to the country's "primitive raw materials economy" and to policies based on "nostalgic superstitions", even as a recovery based on higher energy and commodity prices gives him room to speak out. - Robert M Cutler (Nov 19, '09)

Rusal tests Hong Kong's waters
Members of the Listing Committee of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange gather on Thursday to discuss the listing plans of United Company Rusal, the first application lodged by a Russian company to sell shares in the city's market. More than the possible US$3 billion value of the share sale will be at stake. -  John Helmer (Nov 18, '09)

'Northern Taliban' threatens Central Asia
Taliban counter-moves against United States coalition efforts to forge a supply route from Central Asia to northern Afghanistan have ended the relative calm in that part of Afghanistan and could drag Central Asian states into the conflict. As more foreign fighters from groups like the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan join the ranks of the emerging "northern Taliban", the issue is rapidly climbing up the coalition's agenda. - Sanobar Shermatova(Nov 17, '09)

Bans, burqinis and bad hijab
When it comes to fashion, many Muslim females are damned if they do, damned if they don’t. In Tajikistan, they're banned from wearing head scarves until adulthood. In Iran, they're in trouble if they don't wear them. Many women just wish they had a choice, while one scoffs at suggestions that flowing veils are a security threat, "I can hide a bomb in my undies." - Kristin Deasy (Nov 17, '09)

The rise of Rimland?
Energy deals across Southwest Asia - such as between Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey - are redrawing international relations for years to come, bringing full circle the region's post-Ottoman Empire history. On the periphery, and crucially, lie Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. - Robert M Cutler (Nov 12, '09)

Iran claim clouds Turkey's energy goals
The ambiguity of Turkey's role as a transit country for natural gas headed for Europe is deepening, Iran's claim to be in talks with European firms on supplying the planned Nabucco pipeline, discounted by one company involved with that project, being only one part of the puzzle. Not in doubt is Ankara's warming links with Tehran. - Robert M Cutler (Nov 5, '09)

Russia, India and China go their ways
Despite its best efforts, Russia failed at a recent trilateral summit to get India and China to agree to a common regional initiative regarding Afghanistan. This failure ensures that the United States can now press ahead with its own strategy of striking grand bargains individually with these key players. - M K Bhadrakumar (Nov 4, '09)

Sechin divides the Black Sea
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin appears to have overturned the long-term strategic perspective on how the country should use the Black Sea as an energy transit route. Out goes Bulgaria as a terminal and key partner; in comes Turkey with a much-enhanced role - with all waters muddied by claim and counter-claim. - John Helmer (Nov 2, '09)

Turkmenistan gas sets Ciceronian riddle
Reports emerging from "confidential sources" in Russia and Turkmenistan cast doubt on the spectacular volumes of gas resources claimed by Turkmenistan and verified independently last year by a British firm. The first question to ask is: who might gain from such doubts? - Robert M Cutler (Oct 29, '09)

Europe stoops to conquer the Uzbeks
A controversial decision by Europe to lift an arms embargo on Uzbekistan comes as alarm bells are ringing in Central Asian capitals over a possible spillover of the Afghan war. Tashkent may be the key to a northern supply corridor, but regional leaders - increasingly skeptical of the West's will to win and the prospect of "Afghanization" - are bracing for a Taliban victory. - M K Bhadrakumar (Oct 29, '09)

Russia blackout as fraud trial bill mounts
The legal bills have already hit about US$30 million as Russian authorities pursue fraud and other claims worth US$800 million against Dmitry Skarga, one-time head of the shipping company, Sovcomflot, and a former fleet chartering partner, Yury Nikitin. The trial is in London; back home in Russia, the case is marked by a news blackout. - John Helmer (Oct 27, '09)

Azerbaijan and Turkey clash over energy
A public cry of "no more cheap gas to Turkey" by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev has exacerbated rising Azeri-Turkish energy tensions. Ankara's efforts to play different suppliers against one other - and position itself as a regional energy hub - are not a fatal blow to the stalled Nabucco pipeline, but the rival White Stream may come more to the fore. - R M Cutler (Oct 22, '09)

Europe gets serious about gas
As part of efforts to beat Russia and China to Central Asia's huge untapped natural gas resources, Europe is creating the Caspian Development Corp, which will bind European gas buyers and pipeline projects into a single entity. The question is whether the group can offer Central Asian nations a sweet enough deal to betray Moscow. - Nicholas Clayton (Oct 22, '09)

Nero's ghost in Istanbul
The hot subject at the recent Istanbul meeting of the International Monetary Fund was how to reshuffle its voting power - as if, having failed to see financial disaster coming, the fund could be placed to recommend what to do to prevent future crises. The meeting had a feeling reminiscent of Rome burning as Nero made music. - Hossein Askari (Oct 22, '09)

Red meat back on (some) Russian tables
Russia has agreed to accept shipments of Canadian beef in a deal expected to be worth about US$31 million for Ottawa annually. The move marks a mini-revival in Russia's battered meat imports, but also points to the inability of the domestic industry to come up with the goods. - John Helmer (Oct 20, '09)

ADRIFT ON A RUSSIAN ISLAND, Part 2
A political crisis erupts
As the 30,000-strong South Korean community on Russia's Sakhalin Island began to demand repatriation in the mid-1970s, Soviet authorities scrambled to deal with a political crisis that threatened to turn into a major embarrassment. A harsh solution was found, with many of the dissenters sent packing to North Korea, never to be seen again. - Andrei Lankov (Oct 16, '09)
This is the concluding article in a two-part report.
PART 1: Koreans left high and dry

THE ROVING EYE
Putin lays down law for Clinton
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's appeal in Moscow for Russia to embrace "diversity" and her belief that the Kremlin will approve more sanctions on Iran got short shrift from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as he busied himself elsewhere, stitching together crucial energy deals in China. - Pepe Escobar
(Oct 16, '09)

Sechin's energy enigma
Russia's agreement in principle to supply up to 70 billion cubic meters a year of natural gas by pipeline to China raises a discomfiting question for Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin - if the Chinese haven't agreed on a price for the gas, is there a real deal to sell it? Either way, gas monopoly Gazprom looks to have come out ahead. - John Helmer (Oct 15, '09)

ADRIFT ON A RUSSIAN ISLAND, Part 1
Koreans left high and dry
When Sakhalin Island, off Russia's east coast, became a Japanese colony in 1905, thousands of Koreans were brought in to work in the fishery and timber industries. When the Soviet Union regained the island 45 years later, the Koreans became virtual prisoners, and a stormy coexistence began that lasts to this day. - Andrei Lankov (Oct 15, '09)
This is the first article in a two-part report.

Price limit on China's Russian friendship
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's latest visit to China indicates that a closer strategic cooperation is developing between the two countries. Beijing's determination to drive a hard bargain on the price of gas imports, a change from the offer of oil-related concessionary loans earlier this year, indicates that the cooperation has its limits. - Robert M Cutler (Oct 15, '09)

Benchmarks prove elusive in Iran talks
Russia has politely yet firmly rebuffed United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's bid to secure Russian support for tougher sanctions on Iran if talks on its nuclear program fail. This will please those in the administration of President Barack Obama who prefer dialogue to threats. The administration, though, does not speak with one voice. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Oct 14, '09)

Turkmen workers in rare revolt
Progress on a US$7.3 billion pipeline being built to carry gas from Turkmenistan to China, and due to be in operation this year, was delayed when Turkmen workers downed tools amid demands for better pay. Nearly 200 workers were arrested after clashes with better-paid Chinese fellow-workers. (Oct 14, '09)

Duty call trips Russia steel game
Russian steel bosses and coal-miners, in Beijing this week with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hoping to secure business-bolstering agreements with China, have been done few favors by a Russian Trade Ministry recommendation for a near 30% penalty duty on imported Chinese line pipes. As it is, the Russians appear to be playing Chinese checkers, while the Chinese are playing something much more complex. - John Helmer (Oct 13, '09)

SPEAKING FREELY
Debating the dragon-bear duet
Are current Sino-Russian bilateral relations the beginning of a new, multi-polar world order? Or is Beijing pulling Moscow into a new form of resource patron-clientism in which the former holds the upper hand? While the skeptics have plenty of evidence to show that Russia is being short-changed by China, there are mutual regional and global benefits to this partnership. - Anna Konopatskaya (Oct 13, '09)

Kazakhstan points route out of crisis
As French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Kazakhstan for the signing of a US$3 billion energy pipeline deal that will help create jobs back home, a novel bank restructuring was also showing how the Central Asian country is seeking to emerge from the economic crisis - with some help from China. - Robert M Cutler (Oct 9, '09)

THE ROVING EYE
Jumpin' Jack Verdi, it's a gas, gas, gas
Washington wants reluctant Europeans to wean themselves off Russian gas and do more to protect Pipelineistan - that network of real and virtual routes intended to channel from the planet's most fractured political landscape the lifeblood of the world's richest industrial area. It's a new great game, and it's still the Cold War. It's pure opera, on a grand, grand scale. - Pepe Escobar (Oct 2, '09)

Moscow juggling South Stream pipe dreams
Russia is redoubling efforts to attract partners and customers for its South Stream gas pipeline project, while the projected cost and required capacity multiply. Yet so far, Moscow has been unable to identify any internal gas reserves to supply the proposed system. - Vladimir Socor (Oct 1, '09)

Hong Kong faces Rusal dilemma
Shares of Rusal, Russia's aluminum monopoly, may soon be up for sale in Hong Kong. Much will depend on how Hong Kong stock exchange investigators view the proposed initial public offering and the state of play in court cases elsewhere in the world. - John Helmer (Sep 30, '09)

Russia, Kazakhstan deals elusive
Russia and Kazakhstan's leaders have in recent discussions reiterated pledges to boost their economic and energy partnership. Despite the optimistic pronouncements, bilateral gas-processing and oil transit deals appear to remain some way off. - Sergei Blagov (Sep 30, '09)

Then Marx came tumbling down ...
Officials in Moscow want a giant statue of Karl Marx removed from the city center, arguing he is a bad ideological influence, and he never visited Moscow anyway. At the heart of the issue is a deep-seated feeling of fragility, not so much of the social-economic order, of the peculiar Russian brand of capitalism, but of the state itself. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Sep 29, '09)

All gas, no vodka, for Putin in Yamal
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held back on the caviar and vodka when hosting leaders of global energy companies on the Yamal Peninsula, yet their investment in the region - and perhaps some cartel-like price-setting - could help Russia become a world power in the liquefied natural gas business. - Vladimir Socor (Sep 29, '09)

Uzbek traders face demolition blitz
Shopkeepers across Uzbekistan are coming to dread a visit to their cities, such as Samarkand and Namangan, by President Islam Karimov, as his concern for appearances is leaving in his wake widespread demolition of their stores. (Sep 29, '09)

Medvedev jumps the gun on Iran
Amid the fuss over revelations of a "secret" Iranian nuclear enrichment facility, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has veered sharply to the side of those seeking tougher action against Tehran. He may well have been premature, and Moscow will now have some dexterous backtracking to do. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Sep 28, '09)

Armenians wary of Turkish trade
Improved relations with Turkey are expected to create new opportunities and offer a huge new market for Armenian businesses, yet some fear they will face a flood of competing products and services that could undercut them on price. (Sep 28, '09)

Moscow holds the line on Iran sanctions
There was just enough in Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's words spoken in his hotel suite on Wednesday about a harder line on Iran for the White House to claim that had Russia bent, finally, in Washington's direction. Even as the President Barack Obama administration was savoring its success, however, China was there to spoil the moment. - M K Bhadrakumar (Sep 25, '09)

SINOGRAPH
Russia plays pipeline politics
Russia's proposed South Stream energy pipeline is a potential weapon with which it could gain the upper hand in Europe. And as with the best chess players, for Russia, a situation of defense because of the rival Nabucco pipeline could become a position of attack. It can re-establish the former Soviet influence, attempt to reach the Mediterranean after three centuries of failures, and take on a dominant position in Europe. - Francesco Sisci (Sep 24, '09)

Russia hangs on to recovery
The Russian economy is showing signs of recovering from its precipitous decline, and the possibility of accession to the World Trade Organization next year holds out hope of further improvements. Yet many signs, such as declining output, remain grim, while others are depressingly unchanged. - R M Cutler (Sep 23, '09)

Gazprom seeks far-eastern riches
Russia's state-run Gazprom has stepped up efforts to control natural gas resources in the country's eastern regions by taking over new deposits and building new pipelines. The gas monopoly's plans for a pipeline to China, however, remain stalled. - Sergei Blagov (Sep 23, '09)

Turkey seeks tie-up with Iraq
The decision to create a free-trade area was one of the more remarkable results of the first ministerial meeting of the Turkish-Iraqi High Level Strategic Cooperation Council. This moves forward Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's vision of a common economic area replacing conflict in the Middle East. - Saban Kardas (Sep 22, '09)

Medvedev bears gifts and a growl
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Switzerland this week includes the gift of two bear cubs and comes with a growl over the Swiss handling of oil and aluminum oligarch Victor Vekselberg and his takeover of Swiss companies Sulzer and Oerlikon. - John Helmer (Sep 21, '09)

Obama drops a missile bombshell
President Barack Obama's decision to scrap the longstanding plans of the United States for an anti-missile shield in the heart of Europe has opened another political front just when he is barely coping with the war in Afghanistan. Moscow will carefully weigh the "overture", and Europe, Ukraine, Georgia and Iran will huddle in anxiety to ponder the implications of what Obama has done. - M K Bhadrakumar (Sep 18, '09)

Four-way street in Kazakhstan
A summit of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan ended with its purpose and consequences obscure, although two elements were less murky than others. Iran was upset at not being invited, and Turkmenistan is increasingly determined not to be bound to Russia for its energy exports. (Sep 17, '09)

Russian pact stokes Caucasus tensions
With tensions again on the rise between Moscow and Georgia, Russia has inked defense pacts with the breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia, allowing it to maintain military bases in the rebel regions for the next half-century. Following attempts by Georgia to blockade Abkhazia, Moscow also threatened to seize Georgian ships in the Black Sea. (Sep 16, '09)

Russian energy in disarray
The Russian energy sector appears to be in disarray, with vast projects put on hold, in trouble, or with development plans abandoned. With ownership of key companies also changing hands in less-than-transparent circumstances, this raises questions for European and Asian energy security. (Sep 15, '09)

Netanyahu plays a Russian rope trick
The top-secret dash that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to Moscow on September 7 is believed to be the latest chapter in the maritime saga involving the "hijacked" Russian ship, the Arctic Sea. The gambit was done as a hedge, because in Tel Aviv these days, trust in the United States is rapidly eroding. - Sreeram Chaulia (Sep 14, '09)

Summit may reshape Caspian bloc
The meeting this weekend of the presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan may lead to the emergence of a regional economic grouping focused on the resource-rich Caspian area. Iran is a notable absentee. (Sep 11, '09)

Arctic Sea - a serial absentee
The disappearance last month of the Russian-owned timber-carrier the Arctic Sea triggered speculation in Tel Aviv and London about missile smuggling. Yet this is not the first time the ship has gone missing, or at least vanished from official maritime records without explanation. Some Moscow officials have called the story a hoax - others involved aren't talking at all. - John Helmer (Sep 11, '09)

US throws down aluminum gauntlet
The United States government's decision not to allow General Motors to sell its European automobile division to a Russian combination that included interests of oligarch Oleg Deripaska was a powerful, definitive, and public message. - John Helmer (Sep 10, '09)

A Byzantine vision for Russia
A film on the fall of the Byzantine Empire made by a close confidant of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin offers a rare insight into the thinking of the country's elite. Like the masks actors wear in Venetian plays, the film is a disguise, in this case, for what Russia needs to do to deal with the dangers to its east and to its west. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Sep 8, '09)

Crisis looms in Russia's armed forces
Russia's Defense Ministry is fighting an internal battle, with bullying, corruption, violence and suicide all on the rise in the armed forces despite the implementation of an unparalleled reform agenda. The depth of social ills afflicting the military may be deeper than realized, reflecting entrenched demographic problems across the country. - Roger N McDermott (Sep 3, '09)

Murder comes with hazelnut harvest
Georgians living in the breakaway territory of Abkhazia face robbery and often death as they bring in this year's hazelnut harvest, with soaring prices and a lack of personal protection from the authorities making villagers and their valuable crop attractive and easy targets. (Sep 2, '09)

Oil stirs conflict on Black Sea
Pipelines running along the bed of the Black Sea are the frontline for Russia in its attempt to impose its energy policies on the European Union. Now nationalism and alleged corruption over hydrocarbon resources beneath the seabed highlight energy anarchy on the EU's frontier. (Sep 1, '09)

Turkish nuclear plant eases forward
Eased regulations on cross-border customs checks followed Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's recent visit to Turkey. The implications extend beyond Turkish-Russian trade in textile and agriculture, possibly benefiting progress on Turkey's first nuclear power plant. (Aug 31, '09)

Debt-hit Tajiks turn to suicide
The Tajikistan economy has been hit hard by the global downturn, with factory closures at home and the loss of remittances from thousands of labor migrants losing their jobs outside the country. Families feel the burden in mounting debts - and resort to suicide when these become too much to face. - Bahtior Valiev (Aug 27, '09)

The truth is adrift with the Arctic Sea
The Russian media continue to feed public confusion by positing wild explanations about the Russian-crewed, Finnish-managed and Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea, which disappeared while sailing in Swedish waters in the Baltic Sea. Even the simplest telling of the course of events is baffling. - Cristina Batog (Aug 25, '09)

US steps up its Central Asian tango
An axis with Uzbekistan influence in northern Afghanistan and Islamabad playing a role in the country's south and southeast is required by the United States as it addresses the Taliban's reconciliation and return to political life in Afghanistan. But President Barack Obama has also to reach for the door that opens engagement with Tehran. He may find the answer in the bazaars of Central Asia. - M K Bhadrakumar (Aug 24, '09)

Turkish recovery needs more time
Turkey's economy appears to be coming out of its precipitous decline, with month-on-month industrial production showing signs of recovery even as declines continue from a year earlier. Signs of recovery elsewhere in the world raise the possibility that this fragile trend will continue. (Aug 24, '09)

Stall and spin in Russian air force reform
Citing the United States as a future threat, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force has outlined a grand reform, including new air and space defense systems, fifth-generation fighter jets and unmanned aerial vehicles. He has said little on how to tackle less exciting but more immediate issues. - Roger N McDermott (Aug 21, '09)

Pressure grows to clip vulture funds' wings
The United States Congress is under increasing pressure to limit the ability of vulture funds to use US courts to garner exorbitant profits from poor countries' debt that they have bought on the cheap. (Aug 20, '09)

Russia steps up role in German industry
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose Christian Democratic Union faces a general election next month, used her third bilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev this month to promote increased Russian involvement in crisis-hit German industry. (Aug 20, '09)

Language curb squeezes Syrian business
Stricter enforcement by the Syrian government of a law enforcing the use of Arabic in store signs is costing Kurdish and other ethnic-minority business owners more than just a sense of identity. The switch costs them cash and, they fear, income from tourists and other customers. (Aug 19, '09)

Turkey inches towards Qatar LNG deal
Turkey's role as an expanding nexus of energy pipelines between East and West disguises its own at times critical shortages of fuel. The emir of Qatar's visit to Istanbul may have nudged the two countries closer towards a possible agreement that would see Qatar's gas meeting some of those needs. (Aug 19, '09)

Azeris baffled by Turkmen legal threat
Turkmenistan's threat to take Azerbaijan to court over their maritime boundary is baffling analysts in the Azeri capital, who say the move does not seem to make political, business or legal sense - even allowing that the Nabucco pipeline and the fuel it will carry no doubt plays in there somewhere. (Aug 18, '09)

Kyrgyzstan seeks economic lifeline
Government officials in Kyrgyzstan, concerned about the extent of the country's downturn, have been meeting with businessmen to consider how banking, industry and agriculture should be supported. Loans from the likes of China would help. Solace from the heavens in the form of rain has already done its bit. (Aug 17, '09)

Putin, Erdogan seal 'grand bargain'
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin left Turkey last week with a plethora of signed energy and trade deals in his briefcase, at their core a "grand bargain" on energy pipelines. A new era, then, between the two countries - or did Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan give away something for next to nothing? (Aug 12, '09)

China quietly reshapes Asia
China will not boast of this success, but a new order has been established in Asia. The country is now Russia's largest trading partner, not least because of a reversal of past Kremlin policy that allows greater access in Russia's Far East region and elsewhere in Asia to Chinese interests. (Aug 11, '09)

Russia reflects on Putin's decade
Ten years ago, Vladimir Putin became Russia's fifth prime minister in 18 months, the same position he now occupies after serving two terms as president. After a shaky start, Putin has cemented himself as a popular strongman - his approval rating hovers between 60% and 70%. Critics claim that in the political climate Putin has created, there is no one other than Putin to believe in. (Aug 11, '09)

Russia parries US thrust in Central Asia
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is lurching toward Central Asia, and Moscow is worried. At the heart of the concern is competition for influence in unpredictable Uzbekistan. Tashkent estimates that the conflict in Afghanistan is a long haul and that working with the West will yield political capital and a slice of Afghan reconstruction money. Then again, things aren't always what they seem in Central Asia. - M K Bhadrakumar (Aug 7, '09)

Lobbyists polish Russia's image
Russia's image in the West has improved since the end of the Cold War, but the impression remains of high levels of corruption and a difficult investment environment. To improve that, Western public relations companies are happy to sign up for Russian government and company contracts to promote a more positive image. - Roman Kupchinsky (Aug 5, '09)

Poverty Tajikistan's only growth area
One-third of all Tajikistan's industrial plants and factories is at a standstill, overseas remittances are dwindling and more than half the population is classed as poor. Nor is the government much help - as tax income tumbles, it is falling behind on pensions and state wages. The outlook offers no improvement. (Aug 5, '09)

Putin budget reveals idea deficit
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's budget proposals for next year, drawn up under the cloud of a dangerously deepening deficit, indicate that he fears growing discontent in the country and that he has no ideas on revitalizing the economy. (Aug 4, '09)

English justice versus Rusal
Britain's Court of Appeal has ruled that Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska should answer in London claims that he improperly took a 20% stake in his country's monopoly aluminum producer. The stakes are vast, not counting the future of US$13 billion in bank debts hanging also in the balance. A revolution in Russian corporate and shareholder accountability has begun. - John Helmer (Aug 3, '09)

China dips its toe in the Black Sea
China's bold offer to effectively underwrite the entire Moldovan economy shows that it may regard the post-Soviet space as its own "near abroad". Beijing's concern is palpable in the face of the rise in militant Islamist activities in Central Asia, and Russia is entirely sympathetic. - M K Bhadrakumar (Jul 31, '09)

The Caspian boils again
Iran expects to deploy its first deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig - the "Iran-Alborz" - in the Caspian Sea next month. The rig's very name points to Tehran's even more bitter view of Azerbaijan's claims on the Caspian's energy wealth than Turkmenistan's recent posturing. - Robert M Cutler (Jul 29, '09)

Moscow market closure strains Turkish ties
The ambitions of business mogul Telman Ismailov may have played a bigger role in the closure of Moscow's vast Cherkizovsky market than the official excuse of health and immigration issues. More certain is that the shutdown will add a complex wrinkle to Turkey's welcome mat when Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits next month. Chinese traders caught in the crackdown have also learned how low they figure in their government's priorities.
Chinese traders left hanging - Olivia Chung (Jul 29, '09)

Russia's executioners live on in the streets
You won't find an Adolf-Hitler-Platz in Germany, yet public reminders of criminals like Anatoly Zheleznyakov and Feliks Dzerzhinsky can still be found throughout Russia. A failed attempt by a former spy to change the name of Moscow's Leningradsky railway station suggests that rather than leaving it to politicians, Russian society needs to take it on itself to rid the country of the legacy of Soviet totalitarianism. - Vladimir Kara-Muza (Jul 29, '09)

Russia and Iran join hands
Joint naval exercises in the Caspian Sea this week may prove the starting point for comprehensive military collaboration between Russia and Iran, particularly if Moscow makes good on its promise to complete the much-delayed Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran. This is geopolitical expediency at its best. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Jul 28, '09)

Caspian dispute casts shadow over Nabucco
The renewal of a dispute between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan over hydrocarbon fields in the middle of the Caspian Sea presents a setback to the European Union's Nabucco gas pipeline project. - Bruce Pannier (Jul 28, '09)

NEW GREAT GAME REVISITED, Part 2
Iran, China and the New Silk Road
China's block on Iran's full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization last year might signal that a Beijing-Tehran axis doesn't exist, yet a strategic alliance between the pair is essential to counter Western influence in their domain. For China, Iran is all about Pipelineistan, the Asian Energy Security Grid and the New Silk Road. - Pepe Escobar (Jul 24, '09)
This article concludes a two-part report.
Part 1:  Iran and Russia, scorpions in a bottle

Cash cloud over Georgia's tax-free zone
Georgia hopes a new tax-free industrial zone, backed by an Egyptian company's US$2 billion investment, will help revitalize the country's war-torn economy. Critics question its legality and wonder if the lead company has the cash to back its pledges. (Jul 23, '09)

Russia, China numbers missing
The recent visit by China's President Hu Jintao to Russia aimed at deepening the two countries' strategic partnership and developing energy cooperation. But the sums do not quite add up. - Sergei Blagov (Jul 20, '09)

India plays catchup in the great game
To the United States, Central Asia is a region of crisis, whereas to China it is a region of opportunity to realize its political, strategic and economic aspirations. If India is to catch up in this region, where it has for years been known for its "masterly inactivity", it needs to come to a mutual understanding with China. - M K Bhadrakumar (Jul 17,'09)

Nabucco ink starts to flow
This week's signing of a transit agreement for the 3,300-kilometer Nabucco gas pipeline is an important staging post in bringing the vast project to completion. Many more signatures have to follow before a piece of pipeline is bolted into place. - Robert M Cutler (Jul 15,'09)

Putin wades into tungsten mire
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's public intervention brought relief to unpaid and starving tungsten miners in Russia's Far East in the form of a low-cost payoff. Away from the cameras, ownership of one of the world's largest reserves of the metal has been transferred to a company in which a federal parliamentary deputy has a stake. The fate of the mine's operating license is another question. - John Helmer (Jul 14,'09)

Pipeline deal is sweet music for Iran
An Iranian hand in reducing Europe's energy dependence on Russia, thanks to a project which is a blatant American political venture - this is Moscow's worst nightmare, now a reality. On Monday in Turkey, the US$11 billion Nabucco trans-Caspian gas pipeline venture was formally launched. For Tehran, it is a means to enter into a strategic partnership with Europe in the near term. - M K Bhadrakumar (Jul 14,'09)