Category: Caucasian Politics

Speculation is rife. Zurab Zhvania is dead, along with Raul Usupov. If one wanted to take full control of the Georgian government there are three posts that hold the most power. Mikhail Saakashvili would be a prime suspect if, along with the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament, Nino Burjanadze, also ended up dead. It…

I am watching events in Georgia closely, there must be more to this than first appears. More soon.

Mikhail Saakashvili, President of Georgia, had an article in the IHT last week. He marks a year since the Rose revolution with an update on Georgia’s progress. When my administration took office, three provinces of Georgia were unstable and viewed themselves as independent enclaves: Adzharia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The first step toward reunification came…

The events in the Ukraine are certainly interesting ones. The split in the country is evident, with large tracts of the Eastern regions supporting closer ties with Russia through Viktor Yanukovych. Curiously, or perhaps not surprisingly, the blogosphere largely supports the pro-Western Victor Yushchenko. Perhaps that’s because we are Westerners ourselves. What is curious to…

I can’t keep up with events in the Ukraine, but Dan Drezner has been blogging on it non-stop.

The very dangerous words have finally been said – the Ukraine could be on the brink of very serious civil strife. The situation seems set to escalate, as the US refuses to recognise the result as legitimate. Now both parties have upped the ante : Calling for a general strike, Mr Yushchenko told a vast…

More ructions in one of Georgia’s breakaway regions : Russia may intervene in Georgia’s breakaway province of Abkhazia to protect its interests there, if a post- election crisis escalates further. In response, Georgia has called on the international community to protect the country’s sovereignty. A decade-long row between Georgia and Russia over Abkhazia is getting…

Charles King has been doing some good essays on the problems in Georgia for Foreign Affairs. Elections in the breakaway region of Abkhazia have brought Georgia back into the news recently. It should be noted that the Kremlin’s man is likely to win in what Georgia sees as illegitamate elections. Raul Khadzhimba is seen as…