Latest Updates

Masha Tsigal: Moscow’s 1990s it-girl on how war has changed fashion in Russia

Decades on from Russia’s wild 1990s, the country’s cultural landscape continues to be largely shaped by the enduring influence of the giants that hogged the limelight in the shadow of the former Soviet Union.

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INTERVIEW: Ruben Vardanyan, ousted state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh

The status of the breakaway territory must be settled as part of any final peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and this will require a joint effort of Russia and the West in the UNSC, says Armenian billionaire.

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Xi, Putin meeting: “Loud thunder but few raindrops”

Chinese President Xi Jinping took his leave of Russian President Vladimir Putin from a two-day visit to Moscow with a smile on his face. But despite the important show of solidarity, Putin got little in concrete terms from the Chinese leader.

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Russian banks earn a record profit in January as the sector starts to recover from sanctions shock

Russian banks earned profits of $3.4bn in January, the most ever for the first month of the year, but the banking sector is still limping from the shock of extreme sanctions imposed last year.

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Georgia’s economy outperforms with 10% broad-based growth and record investment in 2022

The Georgian economy has bounced back fast from the series of sharp shocks of recent years, and rather than being dragged down by the polycrisis that has been unfolding.

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Putin woos 40 Africa lawmakers at Moscow conference with promises of money, nuclear power, arms and free grain

Putin took time out from meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping who had just arrived in Moscow for a three-day state visit to speak to lawmakers from more than 40 African countries and woo them with generous promises of economic and military aid

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All to play for in Russian-Chinese backyard

Russia and China will struggle for common policy on possible Russian soft underbelly Central Asia, Afghanistan, Mongolia, the vital Europe/Asia Caucasus crossroads, the Baltics, CEE and SEE.

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TBC Bank looks to Uzbekistan for growth

Georgia's leading bank is expanding its international operations and investing in cutting-edge banking technologies.

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South Africa declares power emergency as rolling blackouts wreak havoc on economy

Four Slovak MiG-29s are already in Ukraine

Turkey’s banks in very different place to few years ago but weak spots remain says Capital Economics

South Africa declares power emergency as rolling blackouts wreak havoc on economy

South Africa declares a state of disaster as it grapples with a severe energy crisis that has far-reaching impacts on its economy and society. The country's coal-fired power plants, which generate 95% of its electricity, fail to provide enough power.

Four Slovak MiG-29s are already in Ukraine

The timing of arms supplies to Ukraine is crucial now that military experts argue that the right moment to launch an offensive against the invading Russian forces is just weeks away.

Turkey’s banks in very different place to few years ago but weak spots remain says Capital Economics

Country’s banking system assessed as in strongest position it has been in for many years, but vulnerabilities “could be exposed if concerns about the global banking system were to escalate”.

News

Lukashenko turns repression screws tighter with raids and jailings, UN condemns Belarus for crimes against humanity

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has ramped up his brutal repression with a series of raids on opposition leaders and politically motivated jailings that has led the UN to accuse his regime of “crimes against humanity.”

Poll suggesting Polish opposition’s unity is only way to beat PiS was manipulated, critics say

Poll only counted those certain to vote, thereby reinforcing liberal narrative that all parties must unite against populist PiS government.

Kosovo’s football federation chief arrested in corruption probe

Agim Ademi arrested ahead of Kosovo's Euro 2024 qualifying matches on suspicion of misuse of funds and tax evasion.

Opposition rift leaves way clear for another Socialist victory in Albania’s local elections

Rival factions are fighting to control Albania's opposition Democratic Party.

Election blow to Erdogan as Turkey’s third biggest party implicitly backs main challenger

“We will fulfil our historical responsibility against one-man rule,” says co-chair of pro-Kurdish HDP.

Lukashenko turns repression screws tighter with raids and jailings, UN condemns Belarus for crimes against humanity

12 hours ago

Poll suggesting Polish opposition’s unity is only way to beat PiS was manipulated, critics say

17 hours ago

Kosovo’s football federation chief arrested in corruption probe

17 hours ago

Opposition rift leaves way clear for another Socialist victory in Albania’s local elections

19 hours ago

Election blow to Erdogan as Turkey’s third biggest party implicitly backs main challenger

23 hours ago

More News

Tech

Kazakhstan poised to intensify vetting of re-exports to Russia

Kazakh traders have been helping fill Russian demand for high-tech consumer goods and other items hard to obtain under Western sanctions.

INTERVIEW: Sviatoslav Kavetskyi, chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Lviv IT Cluster.

Ukraine’s IT sector has seen a mass migration of its employees. With former IT hubs like Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odesa close to the front line, many specialists have moved to Western Ukraine, where life is somewhat more normal.

ToyotaGo project scrapped in Slovenia’s Kocevje

Mayor says on-demand transport project was very popular but too expensive to run in a rural area.

Serbian PM says revenue from IT exports exceeded €2.7bn in 2022

PM Ana Brnabic says Serbia must become a leader in AI to achieve fast and dynamic economic growth in future.

INTERVIEW: Volodymyr Semenyshyn, president EMEA of Ukraine IT company SoftServe

Ukraine’s IT industry has remained remarkably stable in the face of Russia’s full-scale invasion. While many leading sectors in Ukraine have suffered significant losses, IT saw a growth in exports helped by an impressive response from businesses.

Kazakhstan poised to intensify vetting of re-exports to Russia

16 hours ago

INTERVIEW: Sviatoslav Kavetskyi, chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Lviv IT Cluster.

18 hours ago

ToyotaGo project scrapped in Slovenia’s Kocevje

2 days ago

Serbian PM says revenue from IT exports exceeded €2.7bn in 2022

2 days ago

INTERVIEW: Volodymyr Semenyshyn, president EMEA of Ukraine IT company SoftServe

6 days ago

More Tech

Opinion

NEMETHY: The Fed will prioritise financial stability over the fight against inflation

For the past six months, the US Fed has been fighting inflation by jacking up interest rates and tightening money supply to fight inflation. This author, and others, predicted that “something will break”. Something did break: SVB

ASH: What Xi really wants in Moscow

First, as I have previously argued on this blog, I think ideally Xi would want to call an end to the war in Ukraine. It may initially have served a purpose for China, but I think Beijing now sees a real prospect of a catastrophic defeat for Moscow.

ING: Romania is issuance leader in SE region

Romania’s fiscal policy continues to consolidate and borrowing needs are at a record high due to the heavy maturity calendar. However, net issuance of ROMGBs is almost the same as last year. Romania is the region's leader with 44% of planned bonds.

COMMENT: BOFIT forecast for Russia 2023–2024

Russian GDP contracted by 2.1% last year. For the current year, we expect an economic decline of similar magnitude.

STOLYPIN: The quiet and the noisy

There seem to be two kinds of Russian political figure: the quiet and the noisy. We tend to focus on the noisy ones for obvious reasons, but it is the quiet ones who tend to matter, and the case of Evgeny Prigozhin illustrates this perfectly.

NEMETHY: The Fed will prioritise financial stability over the fight against inflation

2 days ago

ASH: What Xi really wants in Moscow

2 days ago

ING: Romania is issuance leader in SE region

2 days ago

COMMENT: BOFIT forecast for Russia 2023–2024

4 days ago

STOLYPIN: The quiet and the noisy

5 days ago

More Opinion

Data

Turkey’s central bank sticks with 8.5% policy rate

Lira has broken through 19 threshold in pre-election environment. With Erdogan heading for defeat, cautious markets will watch out for his next move.

Belarus holding inflation down by fixing prices

Inflation in Belarus has fallen, but that has less to do with central bank policy and more to do with the fact that the government has fixed prices.

China's rise to being Russia's most important trade partner

Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Putin in Moscow as formal talks take place as part of a three-day visit. With the strength of Sino-Russian ties under strong focus, this infographic shows how crucial China has become to the Russian economy.

Most Romanian employers plan to hike wages this year

Six out of 10 companies surveyed by eJobs said they budgeted salary increases for this year.

Romania’s construction works up 5.8% y/y in January

Construction sector growth expected to halve in 2023, to 6.2% from 12.7% y/y in 2022.

Turkey’s central bank sticks with 8.5% policy rate

43 minutes ago

Belarus holding inflation down by fixing prices

7 hours ago

China's rise to being Russia's most important trade partner

15 hours ago

Most Romanian employers plan to hike wages this year

17 hours ago

Romania’s construction works up 5.8% y/y in January

1 day ago

More Data

Features

Georgia sticking with its EU ambitions

Despite mass demonstrations in Georgia against the seemingly pro-Russian “foreign agents” law in March and growing Russian trade turnover following the start of the war in Ukraine, the government in Tbilisi remains dedicated to joining the EU.

Kazakhstan: Low election turnout tempers talk of political reset

Only one in four voters in Almaty, the country's largest city, cast their ballot.

Mongolian herders’ lives out of ‘steppe’ with global economic realities

Pandemic and Ukraine war impacts bring hardship that makes battle to subsist outside of the city a gruelling challenge.

Demining Ukraine: "The most important thing is to protect people"

Ukraine is the most mine-contaminated country on Earth. Red warning signs bearing skulls and crossbones litter the fields and forests of liberated territories.

A fresh face and dirty games in Montenegro’s presidential election

Longstanding ruler Milo Djukanovic is fighting off challenges from newcomer Europe Now’s candidate Jakov Milatovic and pro-Russian Andrija Mandic.

Georgia sticking with its EU ambitions

1 day ago

Kazakhstan: Low election turnout tempers talk of political reset

2 days ago

Mongolian herders’ lives out of ‘steppe’ with global economic realities

6 days ago

Demining Ukraine: "The most important thing is to protect people"

6 days ago

A fresh face and dirty games in Montenegro’s presidential election

7 days ago

More Features

Blogs

KYIV BLOG: the West has no goal in the Russo-Ukraine war.

The West has been increasingly supplying Ukraine with more and more powerful weapons, but always in insufficient amounts and always with a delay that does not change the tide of the conflict to Kyiv’s advantage.

CAUCASUS BLOG: Where next for Georgian Dream?

Two days of mass protest have forced the ruling Georgian Dream party to back down and withdraw a proposed “foreign agents” law, which would brand NGOs and media that receive more than 20% of their income from abroad.

Turkmenistan: Welcome to the ombuds office, or no trespassing

Israel is imminently poised to open a permanent mission in Ashgabat, 20 kilometres from the Iranian border. Eurasianet’s weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

BALKAN BLOG: Is Serbia’s far right an authentic opposition movement?

Serbia’s violent pro-Russian far right makes President Aleksandar Vucic look like a moderate in comparison, and gives him more room to manoeuvre internationally.

Turkmenistan: A shore bet

Tightening internet controls as families desperately try to reach loved ones in Turkey, bogus economic performance figures, and Berdimuhamedov the elder visits the Gulf. Eurasianet’s weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

KYIV BLOG: the West has no goal in the Russo-Ukraine war.

9 days ago

CAUCASUS BLOG: Where next for Georgian Dream?

14 days ago

Turkmenistan: Welcome to the ombuds office, or no trespassing

15 days ago

BALKAN BLOG: Is Serbia’s far right an authentic opposition movement?

1 month ago

Turkmenistan: A shore bet

1 month ago

More Blogs

bneGREEN

bneGREEN: Pace, scale of climate change action has been insufficient – IPCC

The pace and scale of what has been done so far to combat climate change, and current plans, are insufficient to tackle the problem, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

bneGREEN: World faces 40% fresh water shortage by 2030 warns UN summit co-hosted by Tajikistan

Landmark report urges nations to urgently start fixing water waste and start managing water as a common good with neighbours.

bneGREEN: Taliban threaten water resources of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan

Kosh Tepa canal irrigation project could deplete Amu Darya border river flows.

bneGREEN: China drives global wind turbine orders to new record in 2022

Global wind turbine order intake hit new highs in 2022, with 44 GW procured in the fourth quarter and 134.6 GW for the year. Both of these order intakes were records, says a new analysis by Wood Mackenzie.

bneGREEN: Energy chiefs say Slovenia must invest in renewables to cut power imports

At the peak of the energy crisis in October, Slovenia imported 56% of its electricity.

bneGREEN: Pace, scale of climate change action has been insufficient – IPCC

1 day ago

bneGREEN: World faces 40% fresh water shortage by 2030 warns UN summit co-hosted by Tajikistan

1 day ago

bneGREEN: Taliban threaten water resources of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan

7 days ago

bneGREEN: China drives global wind turbine orders to new record in 2022

8 days ago

bneGREEN: Energy chiefs say Slovenia must invest in renewables to cut power imports

8 days ago

More bneGREEN

Latest Updates

News

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has ramped up his brutal repression with a series of raids on opposition leaders and politically motivated jailings that has led the UN to accuse his regime of “crimes against humanity.”

Poll only counted those certain to vote, thereby reinforcing liberal narrative that all parties must unite against populist PiS government.

Agim Ademi arrested ahead of Kosovo's Euro 2024 qualifying matches on suspicion of misuse of funds and tax evasion.

Rival factions are fighting to control Albania's opposition Democratic Party.

“We will fulfil our historical responsibility against one-man rule,” says co-chair of pro-Kurdish HDP.

Tech

Kazakh traders have been helping fill Russian demand for high-tech consumer goods and other items hard to obtain under Western sanctions.

Ukraine’s IT sector has seen a mass migration of its employees. With former IT hubs like Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odesa close to the front line, many specialists have moved to Western Ukraine, where life is somewhat more normal.

Mayor says on-demand transport project was very popular but too expensive to run in a rural area.

PM Ana Brnabic says Serbia must become a leader in AI to achieve fast and dynamic economic growth in future.

Ukraine’s IT industry has remained remarkably stable in the face of Russia’s full-scale invasion. While many leading sectors in Ukraine have suffered significant losses, IT saw a growth in exports helped by an impressive response from businesses.

Opinion

For the past six months, the US Fed has been fighting inflation by jacking up interest rates and tightening money supply to fight inflation. This author, and others, predicted that “something will break”. Something did break: SVB

First, as I have previously argued on this blog, I think ideally Xi would want to call an end to the war in Ukraine. It may initially have served a purpose for China, but I think Beijing now sees a real prospect of a catastrophic defeat for Moscow.

Romania’s fiscal policy continues to consolidate and borrowing needs are at a record high due to the heavy maturity calendar. However, net issuance of ROMGBs is almost the same as last year. Romania is the region's leader with 44% of planned bonds.

Russian GDP contracted by 2.1% last year. For the current year, we expect an economic decline of similar magnitude.

There seem to be two kinds of Russian political figure: the quiet and the noisy. We tend to focus on the noisy ones for obvious reasons, but it is the quiet ones who tend to matter, and the case of Evgeny Prigozhin illustrates this perfectly.

Data

Lira has broken through 19 threshold in pre-election environment. With Erdogan heading for defeat, cautious markets will watch out for his next move.

Inflation in Belarus has fallen, but that has less to do with central bank policy and more to do with the fact that the government has fixed prices.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Putin in Moscow as formal talks take place as part of a three-day visit. With the strength of Sino-Russian ties under strong focus, this infographic shows how crucial China has become to the Russian economy.

Six out of 10 companies surveyed by eJobs said they budgeted salary increases for this year.

Construction sector growth expected to halve in 2023, to 6.2% from 12.7% y/y in 2022.

Features

Despite mass demonstrations in Georgia against the seemingly pro-Russian “foreign agents” law in March and growing Russian trade turnover following the start of the war in Ukraine, the government in Tbilisi remains dedicated to joining the EU.

Only one in four voters in Almaty, the country's largest city, cast their ballot.

Pandemic and Ukraine war impacts bring hardship that makes battle to subsist outside of the city a gruelling challenge.

Ukraine is the most mine-contaminated country on Earth. Red warning signs bearing skulls and crossbones litter the fields and forests of liberated territories.

Longstanding ruler Milo Djukanovic is fighting off challenges from newcomer Europe Now’s candidate Jakov Milatovic and pro-Russian Andrija Mandic.

Blogs

The West has been increasingly supplying Ukraine with more and more powerful weapons, but always in insufficient amounts and always with a delay that does not change the tide of the conflict to Kyiv’s advantage.

Two days of mass protest have forced the ruling Georgian Dream party to back down and withdraw a proposed “foreign agents” law, which would brand NGOs and media that receive more than 20% of their income from abroad.

Israel is imminently poised to open a permanent mission in Ashgabat, 20 kilometres from the Iranian border. Eurasianet’s weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

Serbia’s violent pro-Russian far right makes President Aleksandar Vucic look like a moderate in comparison, and gives him more room to manoeuvre internationally.

Tightening internet controls as families desperately try to reach loved ones in Turkey, bogus economic performance figures, and Berdimuhamedov the elder visits the Gulf. Eurasianet’s weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

bneGREEN

The pace and scale of what has been done so far to combat climate change, and current plans, are insufficient to tackle the problem, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

Landmark report urges nations to urgently start fixing water waste and start managing water as a common good with neighbours.

Kosh Tepa canal irrigation project could deplete Amu Darya border river flows.

Global wind turbine order intake hit new highs in 2022, with 44 GW procured in the fourth quarter and 134.6 GW for the year. Both of these order intakes were records, says a new analysis by Wood Mackenzie.

At the peak of the energy crisis in October, Slovenia imported 56% of its electricity.

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