RFE/RL Briefings: The Best Of 2006
Ukrainian nationalists protest in Kyiv on December 27, 2005, against Russian gas-price hikes (epa) - On January 19, RFE/RL's Washington office hosted a briefing at which leading experts discussed the political and economic ramifications of the spat between Moscow and Kyiv over natural-gas prices.
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Muslims praying in the southern Russian city of Rostov-na-Donu in October (TASS) - Russia's ongoing demographic crisis and transition is one of the major continuing stories in RFE/RL's broadcast region. In February, Russia specialist Paul Goble spoke at an RFE/RL briefing about how Moscow is handling its burgeoning Muslim minority.
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Opposition supporters in Minsk hold a rally on election day, March 19, 2006 (bymedia.net) - Although it was clear that Belarus's March 19 presidential election would not be competive or fair, the event was still viewed as an important landmark for the opposition. In February, RFE/RL hosted a briefing of Belarus experts, who explained what the country was going through.
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Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka enters his inauguration ceremony in Minsk on April 8 (epa) - After Belarus's disputed presidential election and the opposition protests that followed it, RFE/RL invited several specialists -- including RFE/RL Belarus Service Director Alexander Lukashuk, who reported live from Minsk during the events -- to assess the future of Belarus's political opposition.
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Iraqi troops at a post along the Iranian border in May (epa) - In March, RFE/RL's Washington office hosted a briefing that explored Iran's interests in Iraq and the possibility that Tehran could be drawn into a process intended to stabilize its neighbor.
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An Russian pensioner in the village of Andreyevskoe watches President Putin on national television in October (epa) - In April, RFE/RL hosted a briefing with Russia experts Floriana Fossato and Masha Lipman, who discussed changes in Russian media and advertising laws that seem designed to bring regional television into line with the Kremlin-controlled national channels.
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Two Iranian women at an internet cafe in Tehran (AFP file photo) - To mark World Press Freedom Day, RFE/RL and Internews cohosted a briefing on Internet development in RFE/RL's broadcast region, with a focus on Belarus and Uzbekistan.
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Red paint thrown at the parliament building in Pristina by ethnic-Albanian protesters on November 28 (epa) - In June, RFE/RL's Washington office held a briefing with James Lyon, special adviser to the International Crisis Group, on the final status of the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo. Lyon argued a mismanaged transition could result in "a low-level guerilla war" in the region.
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An oil refinery in the Russian city of Ryazan (TASS) - As Russia prepared to host a G8 summit in St. Petersburg in July, analysts returned to the topic of energy security and Europe's growing interdependence with Russia. At a briefing in RFE/RL's Washington office, analysts looked these questions and at Russia's overall energy agenda.
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Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev at a ceremony at the Kazakh Embassy in Washington on September 28 (RFE/RL) - Oil-rich and democracy-poor, Kazakhstan is a puzzle to many in the West, despite President Nursultan Nazarbaev's efforts in 2006 to improve his country's image. At a briefing in September, RFE/RL analysts shed light on this "selectively capitalist kleptocracy."
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Civilians crossing the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan (TASS) - At a briefing in RFE/RL's Washington office in August, experts examined Afghan claims that the antigovernment insurgency there is largely a product of foreign influence. The analysts discussed the uneasy relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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President Viktor Yushchenko (foreground) with Viktor Yanukovych at talks on forming a government on July 27, 2006 - Ukraine's indecisive March parliamentary elections led to months of political wrangling between the allies of the Orange Revolution and the "blue" team of former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. In October, Yanukovych was returned to that post, and RFE/RL hosted a briefing to look at the situation in Kyiv.
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Opposition supporters demonstrating against President Kurmanbek Bakiev's administration on November 2 (AFP) - November turmoil in Kyrgyzstan threatened to undo the 2005 "tulip revolution." The tension was defused peacefully and new constitution was adopted. RFE/RL hosted a briefing at which RFE/RL specialists put the upheaval into context and evaluated the new political situtation.
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Turkmenistan celebrated the 65th birthday of President Saparmurat Niyazov in February (TASS) - Turkmenistan is one of the world's most isolated countries. Reporting on President Saparmurat Niyazov's regime is dangerous work, as RFE/RL learned when correspondent Ogulsapar Muradova died in custody in September. At an RFE/RL briefing, experts discussed the media situation in the country.
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