ESTONIA
The proposal of Georgy Satarov, former aide to ex-Russian president Boris Yeltsin, to create a propaganda TV channel in Estonia to broadcast for North-West Russia, including St. Petersburg, the Leningrad region and Pskov, received much coverage in the mass media. The press believes that Western countries, interested in promoting democracy in Russia, could render assistance. "There is no doubt that Estonia cannot wage an information war against Russia... But taking into account that the West will necessarily have the need to share independent information with states diverging from democracy (in the past the Voice of America and the Radio Free Europe shared it with the Estonian Soviet Republic), the idea does not seem such a utopia." (Postimees, June 15.)
Another article devoted to the situation with freedom of speech in Russia maintains that independent journalism in the country has survived only in
marginal publications. "The authorities rein in opposition or criticizing newspapers if they have at least a little weight. Smaller papers that are insignificant on the national scale are allowed to operate almost without obstacles, even if they express radical views." (Parnu Postimees, June 16.)
LATVIA
The border treaty with Russia is again a top priority. The Latvian government does not rule out that the treaty, which is being discussed by the Constitution Court, may be soon put up for a referendum. "At referendums people usually express their dissatisfaction with many issues. Now our cost of life is growing. We cannot rule out that people will say no only because they are dissatisfied with their lives." (Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Neatkariga Rita Avize, June 17.)
Even Russian-language mass media were outraged by the statement of Russian deputy Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who had congratulated the Baltic people with the anniversary of joining the Soviet Union. "The Soviet interpretation of history is typical not only for Zhirinovsky, but also for the Kremlin. The pseudo opposition political clown may afford jokes that are unacceptable for the official authorities." (Vesti Segodnya, June 18.)
The mass media actively promote the thesis about an early collapse of the Russian economy. They publish data on the decline in oil output, the high level of corruption and ensuing low investment attractiveness. (Biznez i Baltija, June 15; Dienas Bizness, June 17.)
LITHUANIA
The resignation of ethnically Russian Economics Minister Viktor Uspasskikh and his leaving the parliament is seen by the national mass media as a huge victory of "the free European Lithuania" over "the retrograde imperial Russia." "Symbolically, the leader of the Labor Party sent in his resignation papers to Lithuania from Russia, and his visit there looks more like a flight than an official visit of a statesman." (Lietuvos Ritas, June 18.)
The recurring theme of increased activities of the Russian special services in the Baltic states is contributed by an exclusive interview with Oleg Gordiyevsky, former double agent of the Soviet Union and Britain. "Russia's FSB and Foreign Intelligence Service have so many residents in such small countries as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as in the largest European states." (Lietuvos Ritas, June 18.)
The press tries to view the looming crisis with the EU constitution through the prism of Russia's interest in the split of the European Union. "Increasingly losing influence in former Soviet republics, Russia received an additional trump card with the French and Dutch 'No'." (Lietuvos Ritas, June 18.)
UKRAINE
The mass media accuse Russia of politically inspiring the Russian-Ukrainian gas scandal ahead of the parliamentary election in Ukraine. "Russia will contribute in every possible way to the emergence of a system economic crisis in Ukraine; the Kremlin is in talks with the leaders of Ukrainian opposition, or, to be more exact, is creating new Ukrainian opposition; Moscow is ready to provide Ukrainian opposition with financial, information and intellectual resources; in economic cooperation with Ukraine it will concentrate on the issues of the common economic space, Ukraine's rejection of the pro-European economic policy and cooperation with NATO." (Lvivska Gazeta, June 17.)
An interview with Russian political expert Stanislav Belkovsky is published. "The most dangerous thing for Russia is Putin's current policy. So the sooner Putin voluntarily gives up his power together with his entire team, the better for Russia. The longer Putin stays, the greater the possibility that... his ruling will end with a bloody breakup of the country." (Glavred, June 15.)
MOLDOVA
The pro-Romanian media of the republic have criticized the sharp reaction of the Russian foreign ministry to the decisions of the Moldovan parliament regarding Transdnestr (the self-proclaimed republic of Moldova with a predominantly Russian-speaking population). "They introduce sanctions to force us to accept the political stand that is not acceptable to us. We are no longer a union republic and will agree only to a dialogue on equal conditions." (Moldova Suverane, June 10.)
The local press fears that the statements by the Russian foreign ministry may be followed by economic sanctions against Moldova. It is stressed that such economic sanctions would backfire at Russian business.
The press reports that Moscow advanced a plan of Moldova-Transdnestr settlement that would be made public "in two or three months," which is described as logical. "Any initiative engenders subsequent initiatives... We will take part in consultations on this issue." (Olivia Press, June 17.)
ARMENIA
Statements on the need to develop the Euroatlantic vector of integration are complemented with the idea of maintaining the pro-Russian vector in Armenia's policy. "We have wonderful relations with Russia and good relations with individual NATO states, and these relations are not confronted to each other. On the country, this helps create security guarantees" for Armenia. (Ayastani Anrapetutyun, June 16.)
But Western experts point out that Armenia can become independent only by curtailing Russian presence in its policy and economy. "Armenia has accepted the pro-Russian model of political development... Russia is strengthening its presence in Armenia, in particular in the energy sphere... This is extremely dangerous for Armenia... We should find a balance where Armenia would not be pro-Russian or pro-American but would have its own view of the situation... The programs of the European Union might help find such a balance between Russia and the U.S." (Aikakan Zhamanak, June 18.)
The withdrawal of part of property of the Russian military bases from Georgia to Armenia is a lively discussed issue. "The Armenian authorities are making another unwise and dangerous step. They are trying to counteract the disruption of the political and economic balance by creating a military imbalance in the South Caucasus by moving Russian military hardware from Georgia to Armenia." (Novoye Vremya, June 16.)
GEORGIA
The agreements on the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia are again described as a major breakthrough towards the establishment of normal relations between the two countries. "Russian and Georgian experts daily review the details of the pullout of the bases... It has been decided that Georgia would not remind Russia about the debts of the military units and would not demand major compensations for the environmental damage they had done. But these debts, which have not been calculated, can be as high as $1 billion." (Akhali Versiya, June 20.)
Georgian politicians traditionally accuse Russia of "provocations" in the zone of the Georgia-Ossetia conflict. "Russia should know that there is a difference between the Berlin Wall and the Caucasus. If South and North Ossetia reunite (the former is a self-proclaimed republic in Georgia and the latter is an autonomous republic in Russia), it will be described as the annexation (of North Ossetia) by Georgia." (Akhali Taoba, June 17.)
Local experts predict that the situation in the North Caucasus would be highly unfavorable to Russia. "If Dagestan blows up, Chechnya will be a pleasant walk by comparison." (Khvalindeli Dge June 15.)
AZERBAIJAN
Many newspapers write about the results of the recent visit by President Ilkham Aliyev to Russia. "One of the true goals [of the visit] was to win the support of Putin before the November elections to the parliament, so as to void the tribulations of the neighboring Georgia and Ukraine." (Azadlyg, June 15.)
It is noted here that the main Kremlin instruments of pressure on Aliyev are the Azerbaijani diaspora and representatives of the republic's government who invested considerable funds in the Russian economy. "The dependence of the Azerbaijani authorities on Moscow will be maintained by the danger of deportation of a million of active and dissatisfied citizens to the country, thus provoking a wave of protests." (Zerkalo, June 16.)
The media are critical of the statement made by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the effect that the withdrawal of a part of Russian weapons from Georgia to Armenia would not disrupt the balance of forces in the Transcaucasus. "If he meant the balance between Russia and the West, it will be disrupted because not all Russian weapons will remain in the South Caucasus. If he meant the balance of forces between Azerbaijan and Armenia, it will be certainly disrupted because Armenia will receive additional weapons. Or did Lavrov mean that the Russian troops in Georgia were at the disposal of Armenia anyway within the Collective Security Treaty, and that the redeployment would change nothing?" (Zerkalo, June 16.)
KAZAKHSTAN
The republican media report on the meeting between President Nursultan Nazarbayev and academician Yevgeny Velikhov, president of the Kurchatov Institute research center. "It is the world's only device [the Tokamak thermonuclear reactor] and we hope to commission it in the next few years. It will be a major contribution and a guarantee that we will participate in the creation of the global thermonuclear power engineering." (Panorama, June 17.)
The press is writing about the opposition forces in Russia. Referring to Russia sources, it reports about the unification of the opposition forces, though only at the information level so far. "So, two oligarchs have staged a veritable revolution in the information sphere, which intertwined the interests of Berezovsky and Nevzlin so tightly that actually each of the sold or reformed media assets will be governed simultaneously from two centers, London and Tel Aviv." (Nomad, June 20.)
Discussing the resignation of vice-premier of Turkmenistan Yolla Gurbanmuradov, the press writes that Russia has lost a crucial channel of influence on President Saparmurad Niyazov, which will have an adverse effect on its standing in the region. "The political leadership of Russia and its executive branches proved unable to see the apparent: By building its policy with regard to Turkmenistan exclusively on Gazprom's gas pipe, Russia childishly lost the game for influence in Turkmenistan." (Navigator II, June 16.)
KYRGYZSTAN
In an interview with the Voice of America radio station, Kyrgyz acting foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva emphasized the importance of the republic's strategic partnership with Russia and all other world powers and noted a practically equal role of Russian and US military bases in the efforts to maintain peace in the region. "Russia is our strategic ally and we want to extend and deepen bilateral relations. China is more and more actively asserting its economic presence in Central Asia and we consider cooperation with China contains a huge potential for the economic development of all Central Asian states... The United States plays a leading role in the development of democracy in our country and strengthening our economy and security". (Gaztea.KG, Kyrgyzstan, June 17.)
In the opinion of the media, a slight decrease in US military presence in the region does not lead to an automatic growth of Russian influence. "It is not ruled out that at Tashkent's request Chinese troops may appear in Uzbekistan" (KyrgyzInfo, June 17.)
UZBEKISTAN
The opinions of the Russian experts invited by Islam Karimov to give "an objective" assessment of the events in Andijan are published. (Ferghana.ru, June 16.)
A statement by journalist S. Yezhkov, well known in Uzbekistan, is cited. He believes that the true reason of the Russian delegation's trip to Uzbekistan was the coordination of a joint information policy to create a positive image of the Uzbek authorities, rather than "a pseudo-investigation of the Andijan events". In his opinion, such PR cooperation reflects the interest of official Moscow, which is politically evolving in the direction of Tashkent. "Russia's internal policy which is being consistently implemented by a former KGB lieutenant-colonel is likely to bear a strong resemblance to the Uzbek model of state administration in the not so distant future". (Ferghana.ru, June 16.)
Some media bodies are surprised by the Kremlin's support of Tashkent's position. "Russian foreign policy ... is passing through yet another test. In a narrow sense of the word - in Central Asia, and in a broader sense - in relations with the USA and European countries... Does Moscow really need to unconditionally support the position of the Uzbek leaders? This is a subject for discussions on a more weighed approach to this issue". (Uzland-uz, June 16.)
TAJIKISTAN
The media are stating nostalgically that after the withdrawal of Russian border-guards from the Tajik-Afghan border, the unique historical experience of cooperation between the two nations may be lost. "Russia, a great country, cannot and must not fence itself off either from small or large countries on the Earth. By its location on the map of the world, history, spiritual and cultural legacy, it is designed to become a benefactor for small nations, small territories and its former co-citizens. At least, it should not push them off. (Vecherni Dushanbe, June 17.)
The press expresses a supposition that it was advantageous for the Kremlin to back the idea of radical Islam's involvement in the May events in Uzbekistan and give an urgent moral and propaganda support to the Karimov regime. It is pointed out that in 2002-2003 the Russian press came down on Tajikistan, accusing it of connections with the international drug mafia. "Everyone is after one's own geopolitical, economic, ambitious and other interests. The question is whether they are aimed at an overthrow of totalitarian rulers or at their support and whether all this is done for the benefit of a nation or to its detriment?" (Avesta, June 15.)
