EURASIA INSIGHT
Analysis of current affairs

Kazakhstan: President Stamps His Personality on the Nation
A PHOTO SLIDESHOW BY JOANNA LILLIS
Visitors to Astana, Kazakhstan’s glittery capital, love to zoom up to the top of the Bayterek Tower in an elevator for a panoramic view over the new city that has sprung up on the steppe over the last decade or so.

Russia: Foreshadowing the Obama-Medvedev Summit
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY RICHARD WEITZ
The main topic of the July 6-8 summit meeting in Moscow between US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will be settling the main elements of an agreement to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). The current arms control pact expires in early December.

Turkey: IMF Talks Provide Way to Gauge Ankara’s Fiscal Discipline
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH
Turkey and the International Monetary Fund will be making a final push in the coming weeks to see whether they can conclude a loan agreement, according to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish analysts say the Turkish-IMF wrangling is masking a more important question: is Ankara committed to sustaining fiscally prudent policies that have made it an attractive foreign investment destination during this decade?

Russia: Obama Trip to Moscow Offers Chance for Better US-Russian Cooperation on Iran
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY STEPHEN BLANK
In advance of US President Barack Obama’s July 6 trip to Moscow, Russian officials have made some interesting gestures concerning the Kremlin’s Iran policy. Some of these signals might offer the possibility of new movement on international efforts to address the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.

Azerbaijan Abandons Controversial NGO Amendments
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN
Azerbaijani rights activists are hailing as a rare victory the passage of amendments to a law on non-governmental organizations after a fierce fight with the government over earlier, more restrictive proposed changes. Worries nonetheless persist about the bill’s long-term implications for civil liberties within Azerbaijan.

Central Asia and Caucasus: Dark Days for Democratization - Report
BY JOSHUA KUCERA
The countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia experienced a decline in their democratic development in 2008, according to a report issued June 30 by the American watchdog group Freedom House.