Latest Updates

Uzbekistan after the storm

A V-shaped recovery will support incomes and job creation, and resolve any lingering impact in the banking sector, says Uzbekistan's Deputy Finance Minister Odilbek Isakov.

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Turkey evacuates thousands of tourists amid hellish wildfire scenes

Heat intensity of infernos measured with satellite data reportedly four times higher than anything on record for the nation.

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VISEGRAD BLOG: The EU finally gets tough with Hungary and Poland

The Commission now has the tools and the evidence to confront Poland and Hungary; the question therefore is whether it will stand firm this time.

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MACRO ADVISORY: Buckle up, August is coming

Russia’s recent history has repeatedly shown that August is a month when surprises, usually bad, can happen more often than in any other month.

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Climate change is shortening Central Asia’s growing season – study

It’s bad news for plans to expand farming, but even worse for herders.

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bneGREEN: EU takes carbon pricing initiative with CBAM

The EU on 14 July unveiled the details of its proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which aims to protect EU CO2 emitters from carbon leakage by making exporters to the EU market pay for the CO2 they produce.

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COMMENT: Why has China’s foreign minister spent three days in Damascus? Probably not having trade discussions

A few days ago China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi spent three days visiting President Bashar al Assad in Syria, the first foreign dignitary the Syrian president has hosted since the start of his new term.

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INTERVIEW: Making privatisation work in Uzbekistan

Despite the pandemic conditions Uzbekistan accelerated its privatisation drive this spring. The head of the State Assets Management Agency Akmalkhon Ortikov explains how.

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BALKAN BLOG: Head prosecutor Stoianoglo is first target and first test for new pro-EU government in Moldova

Moldova’s President Maia Sandu wants to resume the judicial reforms she started in 2019, beginning with exactly what led to her dismissal as prime minister: the appointment of new head prosecutors.

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US, UK and Israel accuse Iran of Gulf attack on tanker that killed Briton, Romanian

Belarus Olympic sprinter seeks asylum in Europe after escaping from Belarusian government minders during the Tokyo games

Erste Group revises upwards CEE region’s 2021 growth outlook

US, UK and Israel accuse Iran of Gulf attack on tanker that killed Briton, Romanian

Analysts widely suspect Iran and Israel are involved in an undeclared shadow war in which they carry out attacks on each other's vessels. This war appears to be escalating

Belarus Olympic sprinter seeks asylum in Europe after escaping from Belarusian government minders during the Tokyo games

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya is seeking asylum in Europe after escaping from Belarusian government minders that were trying to force her to fly home on August 1, where she faces possible arrest and imprisonment.

Erste Group revises upwards CEE region’s 2021 growth outlook

CEE lender cites region’s outstanding resilience during the pandemic and the expected positive impact from the EU’s recovery fund.

News

Politicians posture over bloody cocaine turf war in Serbia

President Vucic shows murder footage on national TV, vows to ‘cut off the head’ of drug mafia.

Yukos shareholders claim $5bn appeal award from Russia

Yukos was once Russia’s biggest oil producer and briefly its most valuable company.

Pashinyan proposes Russian border posts along entire Armenia-Azerbaijan frontier

Clashes in the wake of last year’s Nagorno-Karabakh war have become more frequent in recent months.

‘Ignorant or careless ministers spreading rice cultivation across Iran despite water crisis’

After drought protests rock country, columnist takes officials to task for backing water-intensive rice farming in arid and semi-arid nation.

Falling out among reformist parties puts Bulgaria’s new government in doubt

ITN deputy leader talks of ‘dirty game played by dirty people’ as potential coalition partners demand written guarantees before backing an ITN-led government.

Politicians posture over bloody cocaine turf war in Serbia

16 hours ago

Yukos shareholders claim $5bn appeal award from Russia

3 days ago

Pashinyan proposes Russian border posts along entire Armenia-Azerbaijan frontier

3 days ago

‘Ignorant or careless ministers spreading rice cultivation across Iran despite water crisis’

3 days ago

Falling out among reformist parties puts Bulgaria’s new government in doubt

3 days ago

More News

Tech

European Commission approves acquisition of Telekom Romania by Orange, subject to conditions

Deutsche Telekom is selling its 54% stake in Romanian fixed line operator Telekom Romania Communications to Orange’s local subsidiary.

Russia will reportedly tighten e-commerce regulations

E-commerce platforms in Russia will have to disclose their ranging algorithms and guarantee participants a possibility to control prices, according to proposals currently considered by the federal anti-monopoly service.

Belarus' IT sector continues downward spiral

Almost one year after heavy political crackdowns began in Belarus, its IT industry faces extremely uncertain prospects.

Russia's MTS acquires control of blockchain firm Factorin

The acquisition is aimed at expanding MTS Group’s portfolio of digital financial services for B2B clients.

Ukraine bans Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries

Wildberries' assets to be blocked in Ukraine and it will be prevented from moving goods through the country.

European Commission approves acquisition of Telekom Romania by Orange, subject to conditions

4 days ago

Russia will reportedly tighten e-commerce regulations

5 days ago

Belarus' IT sector continues downward spiral

5 days ago

Russia's MTS acquires control of blockchain firm Factorin

5 days ago

Ukraine bans Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries

6 days ago

More Tech

Opinion

HOMANS: Putin's Epistle to the Ukrainians

On July 12, Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, released an epistle entitled "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians" that has set the cat amongst the pigeons

Perspectives | Blame it on Russia? The danger of geopolitical takes on Georgia’s far right

Framing Georgia’s far right as a unified pro-Russian actor obscures complex local problems.

COMMENT: Uzbekistan will have to host Afghan refugees in the near future

Issue one of many to be addressed by July 15-16 conference, "Central and South Asia: regional dependence. Threats and opportunities", convened on initiative of Uzbek president.

STOLYPIN: Putin’s cybercrime challenge

Following recent cases of Russian-linked cyberespionage and ransomware attacks. President Biden has cranked up the pressure on Vladimir Putin to act.

ING: Russian inflation hits 6.5%, and can go higher

Russian CPI jumped to 6.5% y/y in June and kept accelerating in the first week of July. While supply-side inflation seems to have stabilised, demand-driven CPI stands out in pharma, construction materials, and tourism sectors.

HOMANS: Putin's Epistle to the Ukrainians

13 days ago

Perspectives | Blame it on Russia? The danger of geopolitical takes on Georgia’s far right

19 days ago

COMMENT: Uzbekistan will have to host Afghan refugees in the near future

19 days ago

STOLYPIN: Putin’s cybercrime challenge

21 days ago

ING: Russian inflation hits 6.5%, and can go higher

24 days ago

More Opinion

Data

Russia's GDP catches up with pre-COVID level

Russia's GDP increased by 4.6% y/y in H1 2021, with growth accelerating to 10.1% in the second quarter.

Heatwave pushes up spot electricity prices in Southeast Europe

Prices elevated by a combination of demand for electricity for cooling and an outage at one of the reactors of Romania’s nuclear power plant.

Annual growth of Slovenia’s retail sales slowed to 12.8% y/y in June

Retail sales have been growing for most of this year as coronavirus restrictions are gradually lifted.

73.8% of Montenegrins want their country to join the EU

Nearly half of survey respondents pointed to the better quality of life and higher living standards as the main benefits of membership of the EU.

Russian banks maintain recovery, double profit in 1H21

The total profit for 1H21 reached RUB1.2 trillion, helped by strong retail lending.

Russia's GDP catches up with pre-COVID level

3 days ago

Heatwave pushes up spot electricity prices in Southeast Europe

3 days ago

Annual growth of Slovenia’s retail sales slowed to 12.8% y/y in June

4 days ago

73.8% of Montenegrins want their country to join the EU

4 days ago

Russian banks maintain recovery, double profit in 1H21

5 days ago

More Data

Features

Azerbaijan’s top cleric under fire for pro-Iran remarks

The remarks earned the country’s senior Islamic official a rebuke from a senior adviser to Turkey’s president and a smear campaign in Azerbaijani pro-government media.

Azerbaijani government silent on phone spying revelations

The list of journalists and activists reportedly spied on using the Israeli-made Pegasus software continues to grow. But Baku is keeping quiet.

Da Vinci fund III aims to deRussify its portfolio companies and make them more valuable

Da Vinci Capital, one of Russia’s biggest private equity investors, has been helping its portfolio companies to build up a more international business that will increase their valuation. Now it has launched a new fund that excludes Russia entirely.

DATACRUNCH: demographic disaster in Russia, but a catastrophe in Ukraine

Russia is facing two decades of stagnation thanks to its shrinking population caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union. But in Ukraine the problem is far worse, as the population has shrunk to levels last seen in the '50s.

bneGREEN: Drought causes mass livestock die-offs and irrigation water shortages in Central Asia

Studies detect shifts in precipitation patterns in the Tian Shan mountains that supply region with much of its freshwater.

Azerbaijan’s top cleric under fire for pro-Iran remarks

5 days ago

Azerbaijani government silent on phone spying revelations

10 days ago

Da Vinci fund III aims to deRussify its portfolio companies and make them more valuable

14 days ago

DATACRUNCH: demographic disaster in Russia, but a catastrophe in Ukraine

18 days ago

bneGREEN: Drought causes mass livestock die-offs and irrigation water shortages in Central Asia

18 days ago

More Features

Blogs

BALKAN BLOG: Southeast Europe heatwave a sign of climate change to come

Southeast Europe is suffering under a heatwave that has sent temperatures soaring to 40°C or higher.

CENTRAL ASIA BLOG: Burger King ‘set to battle for Uzbek crown with Tashkent arrival’

Hamburger heavyweight will want more than a flash-in-the-pan success.

Turkmenistan: Tokyo story

Turkmenistan sees Japan as an important source of technical knowhow and investment, and the enthusiasm is mutual. Eurasianet’s weekly briefing.

BRICKS & MORTAR: Residential real estate markets bounce back in Southeast Europe

Strong recovery after spring 2020 lockdowns partly driven by demand for houses and rural properties, but prices remain among the lowest in Europe.

Turkmenistan: Going for gold

Ashgabat has great confidence these days in its Europe-bound exports. Plus, a mysterious tragedy on the Afghan border. Eurasianet's weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

BALKAN BLOG: Southeast Europe heatwave a sign of climate change to come

18 hours ago

CENTRAL ASIA BLOG: Burger King ‘set to battle for Uzbek crown with Tashkent arrival’

1 day ago

Turkmenistan: Tokyo story

4 days ago

BRICKS & MORTAR: Residential real estate markets bounce back in Southeast Europe

12 days ago

Turkmenistan: Going for gold

12 days ago

More Blogs

bneGREEN

Czech industry ministry signs memorandum to back country's first EV battery plant

€2bn battery factory to be built by state-owned utility CEZ with Germany's VW or South Korea's LG.

bneGREEN: Global investors turn to green energy and away from fossil fuels

The world’s largest global debt and equity investors are continuing to invest in renewable energy despite the pandemic, driven by the wealth of investment opportunities, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said.

bneGREEN: BlackRock raises $250mn to fund climate transition in emerging markets

BlackRock has raised $250mn from a consortium of ten institutional investors, governments and charities for its flagship blended finance fund, which aims to help emerging market economies reduce carbon emissions.

bneGREEN: EU carbon pricing set for radical reforms

The European Commission is to publish legislation on July 14 that will detail the EU’s plans, dubbed “Fit for 55,” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030 as part of wider reforms to European energy and climate laws.

Kazakhstan unveils ambitious green-hydrogen project

Kazakhstan hopes to build the world’s largest green-hydrogen project, which could – in the distant future – help Nur-Sultan meet its clean-energy promises.

Czech industry ministry signs memorandum to back country's first EV battery plant

5 days ago

bneGREEN: Global investors turn to green energy and away from fossil fuels

11 days ago

bneGREEN: BlackRock raises $250mn to fund climate transition in emerging markets

20 days ago

bneGREEN: EU carbon pricing set for radical reforms

20 days ago

Kazakhstan unveils ambitious green-hydrogen project

23 days ago

More bneGREEN

Latest Updates

News

President Vucic shows murder footage on national TV, vows to ‘cut off the head’ of drug mafia.

Yukos was once Russia’s biggest oil producer and briefly its most valuable company.

Clashes in the wake of last year’s Nagorno-Karabakh war have become more frequent in recent months.

After drought protests rock country, columnist takes officials to task for backing water-intensive rice farming in arid and semi-arid nation.

ITN deputy leader talks of ‘dirty game played by dirty people’ as potential coalition partners demand written guarantees before backing an ITN-led government.

Tech

Deutsche Telekom is selling its 54% stake in Romanian fixed line operator Telekom Romania Communications to Orange’s local subsidiary.

E-commerce platforms in Russia will have to disclose their ranging algorithms and guarantee participants a possibility to control prices, according to proposals currently considered by the federal anti-monopoly service.

Almost one year after heavy political crackdowns began in Belarus, its IT industry faces extremely uncertain prospects.

The acquisition is aimed at expanding MTS Group’s portfolio of digital financial services for B2B clients.

Wildberries' assets to be blocked in Ukraine and it will be prevented from moving goods through the country.

Opinion

On July 12, Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, released an epistle entitled "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians" that has set the cat amongst the pigeons

Framing Georgia’s far right as a unified pro-Russian actor obscures complex local problems.

Issue one of many to be addressed by July 15-16 conference, "Central and South Asia: regional dependence. Threats and opportunities", convened on initiative of Uzbek president.

Following recent cases of Russian-linked cyberespionage and ransomware attacks. President Biden has cranked up the pressure on Vladimir Putin to act.

Russian CPI jumped to 6.5% y/y in June and kept accelerating in the first week of July. While supply-side inflation seems to have stabilised, demand-driven CPI stands out in pharma, construction materials, and tourism sectors.

Data

Russia's GDP increased by 4.6% y/y in H1 2021, with growth accelerating to 10.1% in the second quarter.

Prices elevated by a combination of demand for electricity for cooling and an outage at one of the reactors of Romania’s nuclear power plant.

Retail sales have been growing for most of this year as coronavirus restrictions are gradually lifted.

Nearly half of survey respondents pointed to the better quality of life and higher living standards as the main benefits of membership of the EU.

The total profit for 1H21 reached RUB1.2 trillion, helped by strong retail lending.

Features

The remarks earned the country’s senior Islamic official a rebuke from a senior adviser to Turkey’s president and a smear campaign in Azerbaijani pro-government media.

The list of journalists and activists reportedly spied on using the Israeli-made Pegasus software continues to grow. But Baku is keeping quiet.

Da Vinci Capital, one of Russia’s biggest private equity investors, has been helping its portfolio companies to build up a more international business that will increase their valuation. Now it has launched a new fund that excludes Russia entirely.

Russia is facing two decades of stagnation thanks to its shrinking population caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union. But in Ukraine the problem is far worse, as the population has shrunk to levels last seen in the '50s.

Studies detect shifts in precipitation patterns in the Tian Shan mountains that supply region with much of its freshwater.

Blogs

Southeast Europe is suffering under a heatwave that has sent temperatures soaring to 40°C or higher.

Hamburger heavyweight will want more than a flash-in-the-pan success.

Turkmenistan sees Japan as an important source of technical knowhow and investment, and the enthusiasm is mutual. Eurasianet’s weekly briefing.

Strong recovery after spring 2020 lockdowns partly driven by demand for houses and rural properties, but prices remain among the lowest in Europe.

Ashgabat has great confidence these days in its Europe-bound exports. Plus, a mysterious tragedy on the Afghan border. Eurasianet's weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

bneGREEN

€2bn battery factory to be built by state-owned utility CEZ with Germany's VW or South Korea's LG.

The world’s largest global debt and equity investors are continuing to invest in renewable energy despite the pandemic, driven by the wealth of investment opportunities, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said.

BlackRock has raised $250mn from a consortium of ten institutional investors, governments and charities for its flagship blended finance fund, which aims to help emerging market economies reduce carbon emissions.

The European Commission is to publish legislation on July 14 that will detail the EU’s plans, dubbed “Fit for 55,” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030 as part of wider reforms to European energy and climate laws.

Kazakhstan hopes to build the world’s largest green-hydrogen project, which could – in the distant future – help Nur-Sultan meet its clean-energy promises.

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