By Denis Trifonov (11/19/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: On October 2 2003, Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD) released a blueprint for the development of the armed forces. The 73-page document presented by Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov is widely believed to be a draft of Russia’s new military doctrine. While not representing a radical departure from the military doctrine of 2000, the draft updates it in several respects.

By Blanka Hancilova (11/19/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: While the Georgian opposition leads public protests against the rigged November 2 parliamentary elections, President Eduard Shevardnadze keeps ignoring calls for his resignation. Besieged in the capital city, Shevardnadze instead chose to seek the backing of regional strongman Aslan Abashidze, leader of the Adjara Autonomous Republic in southwestern Georgia. The call on Abashidze’s support is not an unprecedented development – in a significant move, Shevardnadze visited Abashidze in Batumi in November 2001 as he was challenged by street protesters who demanded the resignation of several members of his government.

By Jahangir Kakharov (11/19/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: The Uzbek Government in December 2001 agreed to an IMF staff-monitored program (SMP) with a number of key economic reform policies to be carried out, including reforms of the agricultural sector, enhancing market competition, and narrowing the gap between the over-the-counter (OTC) exchange rate and the parallel market rate. Some analysts argue that the implementation of the SMP was not quite successful. The main goal of SMP – achieving foreign exchange convertibility by eliminating the gap between OTC rate and black market rate was de facto attained by mid-2003.