Report on Eastern Europe, Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia - issue # 5/2010

 Russian interests ’unaffected’ by new arms deal with U.S.

19:56 24/02/2010

A new Russian-U.S. arms control treaty will not impair Russia’s defense capability, a top Russian military official said Wednesday. "The treaty will soon be ready and it will not harm Russian interests," said Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff, in an interview with satellite TV channel Russia Today. He said that the ongoing talks were tough and moving slowly but "we have reached an understanding that the parties should take each other’s interests into account." He did not indicate exactly when the draft would be ready or when a new treaty could be ratified, but earlier in the day, a senior Russian lawmaker suggested the Russian parliament is unlikely to ratify a strategic arms reduction deal that does not include a link to missile defenses. Officials have said an agreement between Russia and the United States to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired on December 5 last year, is nearly ready and could be struck in the next two or three weeks. The Russian and U.S. presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, made replacing START 1, the cornerstone of post-Cold War arms control, part of their broader efforts to "reset" bilateral ties strained in recent years. Russia, which views U.S. plans to deploy elements of its missile defense system in Europe as a direct threat to its security, has said further cuts in offensive nuclear weapons would not be practical if the sides did not put limits on nuclear defense projects, which could create an atmosphere of distrust. Washington says the missile shield is needed to guard against potential Iranian strikes and would pose no threat to Russia, but in a clear move to ease Moscow’s concerns, Obama last year scrapped plans to deploy interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic. Earlier this month, however, Romania and Bulgaria said they were in talks with Obama’s administration on deploying elements of the U.S. missile shield on their territories from 2015. The new treaty’s outline, as agreed on by the Russian and U.S. leaders, includes slashing nuclear arsenals to 1,500-1,675 warheads and delivery vehicles to 500-1,000.

MOSCOW, February 24 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100224/157993959.html

 Iskander plans in NW Russia not linked to U.S. deployment in Europe

15:20 25/02/2010

Russia’s newly appointed chief of Ground Forces denied on Thursday the country’s plans to equip units in the northwestern military district with Iskander missiles later this year have anything to do with U.S. missile deployment in Europe. The Russian Defense Ministry said in June 2009 that the first Iskander battalion entered service with the Armed Forces in 2008 and the second would become operational in 2009. Their deployment location is secret. "It is planned to equip a brigade of the Leningrad Military District with the Iskander advanced missile systems this year. However, I would not link that to the deployment by an adjacent state, Poland, of U.S. Patriot missiles," Col. Gen. Alexander Postnikov said. The Iskander-E (SS-26 Stone), which is an export version of the Iskander-M missile system in service with the Russian Army, is a tactical surface-to-surface missile complex designed to deliver high-precision strikes at a variety of ground targets at a range of up to 280 km (170 miles). It carries a single warhead with a payload of 400 kg to comply with the limits laid down by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). "These are the Russian Army’s development and construction plans," Postnikov specified. The United States scrapped earlier plans last September for an antimissile defense system in Europe, which also included an interceptor missile base in Poland, earning a strong welcome from Moscow. But last month, Washington said it was dispatching Patriot missiles to Poland, the former Soviet-bloc state and now a NATO nation. Russia has been alarmed by the growing NATO presence on its western borders and threatened to respond to any change in the military balance on the borders. Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov warned last week that Moscow could still deploy Iskander missiles in its exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea if new threats emerge in Europe.

MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100225/158004472.html

 300 T-90 tanks to be supplied to Russian land troops in 2010

25.02.2010, 17.57

MOSCOW, February 25 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Land Troops commander Col-Gen Alexander Postnikov said some 300 new T-90 tanks would be supplied to the army this year. At present, Russia has approximately 20,000 tanks of various models in service. "The present-day task is to develop a new battle tank, which not only would match but also surpass similar models in developed countries by its combat characteristics," the General said. "The state defense order for this year focuses on the development and procurement of new types of armaments and military equipment, although we continue to repair and modernizing the existing hardware. "We’ve selected the guideline toward developing and procuring new tanks; this work is under close attention of the Russian president and the prime minister. T-90 is our new tank. The state defense order for this year envisions the procurement of some 300 tanks of this class," the commander said. "In defense procurements, we give priority to the North Caucasus military district," he added. Aside from supplies of armored equipment to the land troops, they will receive Iskander tactical missile systems which surpass analogous models in the arsenals of our possible opponents, including Buk-M3 and Tor of various modifications. At present, efforts are underway to modernize missile salvo systems in order to increase their range. Later this year, modernized systems Smerch, Grad and Uragan will be supplied to troops with missiles boating a longer range and precision, Postnikov said. According to them, the number of troops Russia will keep in South Ossetia and Abkhazia is capped at 4,000. Russia has set up military bases in these republics in order to protect the local population and prevent terrorist attacks. "The number of troops is set at 4,000, but it can changed, if necessary," the General said. "The newly-created legal aspects enable us to develop the infrastructure of the fourth Russian military base in South Ossetia and the seventh base in Akbhazia, including the training facilities at the places of deployment, which will contribute to the maintenance of the high level of combat preparedness of these bases. Their structure is that of military formation; i.e. they include combat and logistics units," Postnikov said. In addition to places of permanent deployment in South Ossetia and Abkahzai (in Tskhinval, South Ossetia, and Dzhiva and Gudauta, Abkhazia), the Russian bases have military townships in Russia. For example, the seventh base has its own campus in Maikop. It enables the base to vary the number of personnel depending on the situation. At present, Russia keeps some 1,500 troops in Abakhazia. The rotation of the senior officers serving at the military bases in South Ossetia and Abkhazia is effected once every six months. "In case of necessarily, we can carry out such a rotation instantly; in general, we proceed from expediency," the commander said.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14861601&PageNum=3

 Interior Ministry’s reform to take account of specifics of N Caucasus

25.02.2010, 20.59

YESSENTUKI /Stavropol Territory/, February 25 (Itar-Tass) — Russia’s Interior Ministry will consider the specifics of the North Caucasus as it carries out the reforms of its major and subsidiary departments, the Interior Minister, Rashid Nurgaliyev, said in Yessentuki / located at the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains/ on Thursday. “The reforming process will not be stopped,” he said. “We surely shall consider the specifics of the region and the complicated tasks we are facing here.” “It is very important to protect the people socially and to secure all necessary conditions for safety in the region,” he told journalists following an inte-ministerial meeting of law enforcement bodies on the strengthening of law and order in the newly formed North Caucasus Federal District. The police working in the region will attract civilians, representatives of different religions, and the elderly for consultations, he said. “We need to improve preventive actions so that the youth would not be recruited by the ideologists of the so-called bandits’ clandestine organisations, terrorists and extremists,” the minister said. Within three months the ministry will organise its special North Caucasus branch. All necessary “organisational and management decisions” are already in place, Nurgaliyev said. “The branch will be located in Pyatigorsk /the administrative centre of the North Caucasus Federal District/, and we shall be able to work more effectively from here,” he said.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14861957&PageNum=2

 Russia, U.S. make progress on arms cuts treaty - Foreign Ministry

17:53 01/03/2010

Russia and the United States made considerable headway last month on a new strategic arms reductions pact, and talks will continue March 9, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday. The Russian ministry said the latest round of talks in Geneva, which ended on February 27, saw the sides "considerably move forward in coordinating the remaining issues on a set of documents that will form the package of the new agreement." "The sides agreed to continue official talks from March 9 in Geneva," the ministry said. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow expects a new nuclear arms cuts deal to be linked to missile defenses, adding that President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. counterpart Barack Obama reaffirmed this linkage during telephone talks on Wednesday. Senior Russian lawmaker Konstantin Kosachyov said last Wednesday that parliament was unlikely to ratify any treaty that did not include a link to Washington’s plans to deploy missile shield elements in Europe. He admitted, however, that the Russian demand would probably not be included in the new pact as the U.S. Senate would not approve any document containing a formal linkage between the arms cuts and the missile shield.

MOSCOW, March 1 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100301/158053739.html

 Russian 5th-generation fighter to have 2,000 test flights - Putin

20:27 01/03/2010

Russia’s fifth-generation jet fighter, the T-50, is to undergo more than 2,000 flight tests before full-scale production starts, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday. "Before the jet’s serial production is launched, it should complete over 2,000 test flights," Putin said. Russia has been developing its newest fighter since the 1990s. The current prototype was designed by the Sukhoi design bureau and built at a plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in Russia’s Far East.

MOSCOW, March 1 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100301/158055532.html

 Russia, France open ’exclusive talks’ on sale of 4 Mistral warships

23:44 01/03/2010

Russia and France have started "exclusive talks" on the purchase of four French Mistral-class amphibious-assault ships, President Nicolas Sarkozy said after talks with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev. A source in the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that Moscow and Paris have yet to clinch a deal on the purchase of the French warship, adding that nothing would be signed during the Russian president’s three-day visit to France, which began on Monday. "Starting from today, exclusive talks on the issue of four Mistral helicopter carriers will be held," Sarkozy told a press conference. "The Mistral is a helicopter carrier we will create for Russia without military equipment." Sarkozy linked the Mistral sale to Russia to mutual trust between the two states, and Medvedev said: "I hope the talks will end in success." The French president said two of the four Mistral-class ships under discussion could be built in Russia. "Two plus two seems a rather equal, balanced decision to me," he said. The Russian military earlier announced that it was considering buying one of the Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, worth 400-500 million euros (around $540-$675 million), and potentially building three or four vessels of the same class in partnership with the French naval shipbuilder DCNS. A Mistral-class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 helicopters, four landing barges, up to 70 armored vehicles including 13 battle tanks, and 450 personnel. Many Russian military and industry experts have questioned the financial and military sense of the purchase, and some believe that Russia simply wants to gain access to advanced naval technology that could be used in the future in potential conflicts with NATO and its allies.

PARIS, March 1 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100301/158057156.html

 About 45,000 people may be amnestied on Victory anniversary

25.02.2010, 15.04

MOSCOW, February 25 (Itar-Tass) — About 45,000 people may be amnestied on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the chairman of the State Duma Committee for Civil, Criminal, Arbitration and Procedural Legislation, Pavel Krasheninnikov, who also co-chairs the Association of Russian Lawyers, said at a meeting of the association’s presidium on Thursday. “We propose to announce amnesty on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, but the number of amnestied convicts (subject to the amnesty) should not be very wide,” he said. Alongside, Krasheninnikov believes that war veterans, elderly people and disabled people, as well as people, who did not commit grave crimes, should be subject to amnesty. “According to the preliminary estimates, we believe that the amnesty may embrace 300,000 citizens, about 45,000 people will be released from penitentiaries,” he said.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14860566&PageNum=3

 China congratulates Ukraine’s Yanukovych, says ready to develop ties

13:27 22/02/2010

Chinese President Hu Jintao has congratulated newly elected Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych on his victory and said China was ready to develop ties with the former Soviet state, Yanukovych’s press-service has said. Yanukovych was elected president of Ukraine in the February 7 runoff. The inauguration is scheduled for February 25. "On the occasion of your election as Ukrainian president, I express you sincere congratulations and kind regards from the whole Chinese government and me personally," the Chinese leader was quoted as saying. Ukraine’s recent ban on poultry supplies from China and Nepal, which was introduced over suspected bird flu infection, has not prevented the Chinese leader from pledging to "take constant efforts to strengthen traditional friendship between the Chinese and the Ukrainian nations." "The Chinese side pays much attention to the development of friendly relations with Ukraine in all spheres," Jintao said. During the 46th Munich Security Conference in early February, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi agreed to cooperate in economic, trade, investment and infrustructure spheres.

KIEV, February 22 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/world/20100222/157969894.html

 NATO has not given up plans to accept Ukraine, Georgia — Rasmussen

03:09 23/02/2010

NATO has not given up plans to accept Georgia and Ukraine but believes the countries should more actively conduct reforms to fall in line with the criteria required for membership, the alliance’s secretary general said Monday. Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a Georgian-origin student in Washington’s Georgetown University that the countries should conduct security and other reforms. He added that NATO has been holding active discussions with Georgia and Ukraine through bilateral working groups. Ukraine and Georgia have long been pursuing NATO membership but their bids were turned down due to pressure from Germany and France at a 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest. But NATO has stated that the two countries could join at an unspecified date in the future.

WASHINGTON, February 23 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/world/20100223/157974235.html

 Several heads of state invited to inauguration of Ukraine’s new president

16:41 24/02/2010

The inauguration of Ukrainian president elect Viktor Yanukovych on Thursday will be attended by 11 heads of state and 15 foreign ministers, the country’s UNIAN news agency said on Wednesday. Yanukovych is scheduled to take the oath of office at parliament on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. local time (08:00 GMT). The Ukrainian Central Election Commission declared Yanukovych winner in the presidential election on February 14, but his rival Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s appeal to contest the results suspended the announcement until last Saturday, when she withdrew it. Invitations to attend the ceremony have been given to all Ukrainian ministers, the country’s Youth and Sport Minister Yuriy Pavlenko said. "I have received an invitation to the inauguration, and I am likely to attend it, because there is a responsibility, and such a notion as succession of power," Pavlenko said. Tymoshenko’s bloc meanwhile signaled it would not attend the ceremony, bloc member Serhiy Mishchenko said. "We will not attend the inauguration. This is not our feast, and we have not been invited to the feast," the parliamentarian was quoted as saying on the Tymoshenko bloc’s website last weekend. The speaker of the lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, Boris Gryzlov, who will lead the Russian delegation at Yanukovych’s inauguration, expressed hope that relations between the two neighboring countries would be "more appropriate" with Yanukovych as the Ukrainian leader. Relations with Moscow have been soured in recent years by pro-Western outgoing President Viktor Yushchenko’s bid to accept Ukraine into NATO, bitter gas disputes, Kiev’s support for Georgia during its August 2008 war with Russia over South Ossetia, and other issues. Ukraine’s parliament rehearsed the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday. The mayor of eastern Ukraine’s city of Donetsk, Oleksandr Lukyanchenko, said Yanukovych could attend a Europa League football match between Shakhtar Donetsk and England’s Fulham after the inauguration. "There is no exact information, but there was such an intention," Lukyanchenko said. Shakhtar lost to Fulham 2-1 in the League’s first leg last Thursday.

KIEV, February 24 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20100224/157990516.html

 Yanukovych pledges to keep Ukraine out of military alliances

13:36 25/02/2010

New Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said on Thursday that Kiev will build relations with both Europe and former Soviet republics, but will not form any military alliances either with NATO or Russia. "The challenges which the international community faces dictate the need to unite in a larger format. We are ready to participate in this process as a European non-aligned state," Yanukovych said in his inauguration speech in the Ukrainian parliament. West-leaning ex-Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko bid unsuccessfully to take Ukraine into NATO, an issue that soured relations between Kiev and Moscow. Yanukovych has repeatedly opposed plans to join NATO, saying the issue must be put to a referendum. All opinion polls conducted in the ex-Soviet republic show that most Ukrainians are against the country’s accession to the bloc.

KIEV, February 25 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20100225/158003151.html

 Yanukovych sworn in as Ukraine’s new president

12:38 25/02/2010

Viktor Yanukovych has been sworn in as Ukraine’s new president in an inauguration ceremony held in the Ukrainian parliament. The inauguration ceremony was held, however, in a half empty hall of the Supreme Rada, in the absence of ex-president Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko who has refused to recognize Yanukovych as the new president or quit her office. In his inauguration speech, the new president criticized the leaders of the "orange revolution" who were propelled into power in 2005 as a result of street protests over mass fraud at the presidential elections. Yanukovych said the country was plagued by poverty, the crippling economy and corruption but added he knew how to remedy the situation. Yanukovych said one of his new decrees would deal with cuts in spending on the presidential secretariat, adding it was necessary to create an effective system of executive power quickly in the ex-Soviet republic and form a Cabinet of Ministers which will consist of professionals. Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, the largest in parliament, is currently in talks with parliamentary groups to create a coalition to be able to appoint a new prime minister. Tymoshenko is trying to preserve an uneasy coalition of her bloc with ex-president Yushchenko, which has a thin majority in parliament. Tymoshenko and Yushchenko led the "orange revolution" protests that overturned Yanukovych’s tainted election victory in 2004, but have since fallen apart. Their political battles have exacerbated the country’s economic crisis.

KIEV, February 25 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20100225/158002317.html

 Russian patriarch blesses Ukraine’s new president, calls for Slavic unity

17:28 25/02/2010

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church on Thursday blessed the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych in an unusual demonstration of the new Ukrainian leader’s close ties with Russia. Yanukovych invited Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia to the inauguration ceremony, triggering criticism from the rival Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate, which seeks to end the Moscow patriarchy’s control of the church in the country. Speaking after the prayer at the Kiev Laura, Kirill said Yanukovych would serve Ukraine by helping it "overcome political, historical, cultural and religious discords," and by rebuilding traditional ties with fellow Slavic neighbors. Kirill appealed to the memory of the Kievan Rus - a medieval Slavonic kingdom seen as the precursor to the modern Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian states. He also said the three Slavic nations, "parts of a single Holy Rus," must be tied by bonds of friendship, peace and cooperation. "The Lord wanted the seeds sown here on Kiev’s hills to grow into a giant tree of East European Orthodox civilization," the patriarch said. Yanukovych, who attended the prayer before being sworn in at a ceremony in parliament, thanked the patriarch for the prayer and blessing. "I am positive the Ukrainian people will overcome all difficulties in their way, all challenges God has sent to us. We will overcome them and emerge unified," he said.

KIEV/MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/russia/20100225/158006482.html

 Yanukovych moves to give Russian official status in Ukraine

16:04 26/02/2010

The party of new Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych will propose giving the Russian language official status at a regional level, Party of Regions deputy head Boris Kolesnikov said on Friday. In line with the former Soviet republic’s constitution, Ukrainian is the sole state language. However, during his election campaign, pro-Russian Yanukovych promised to give Russian, spoken by some 40% of the population as their first language, official status. While the Party of Regions does not have enough MPs in parliament to force a change in the constitution, regional authorities will be given the choice to make Russian official in their respective areas, Kolesnikov told the Gazeta newspaper. "Governed by the European charter on languages, we have prepared a very good law, and the president will present it in the next 15-20 days," he said. "If some regions do not want to adopt it, they don’t have to," he added. Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Constitutional Court overturned a government resolution prohibiting school teachers from speaking Russian at work.

KIEV, February 26 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20100226/158017147.html

 Russia welcomes chance of Ukraine joining Customs Union

15:28 26/02/2010

There are no real legal obstacles to prevent Ukraine from joining the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday. "We think that this issue should be considered very closely," Andrei Nesterenko said. "The Russian side doesn’t see any legal obstacles to Ukraine’s entry into the Customs Union, which began operating on January 1." "Of course, this will need the consent of the EurAsEC member-states at the first stage and of the Customs Union member-states at the second stage," he added. The statement comes after reports that new Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is willing to start talks on the country’s entry into the Customs Union. The possibility of joining the group drew criticism from Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Yanukovych’s defeated opponent in the February 7 presidential runoff, who has not recognized the president’s victory in the election. Yanukovych has said his administration would not continue with former President Viktor Yushchenko’s bid to take Ukraine into NATO, and would prioritize long-established relations with Russia and other CIS countries. Many experts believe Ukraine’s accession to the Customs Union would trigger a massive slump in exports, aggravating the country’s difficult economic situation still further. Furthermore, Ukraine’s bid is likely to complicate Moscow’s position at talks on energy issues inside the union, as Russia and Belarus entered a bitter dispute at the start of the year over duty-free oil supplies to Belarus that threatened crude deliveries to Europe. Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus signed in late November 2009 an agreement to create a customs union, paving the way for a single economic space. The agreement came into force on January 1, when the three countries introduced common foreign trade tariffs. Ukraine’s accession to the union could be further complicated by its membership of the World Trade Organization. In June 2009, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus notified the WTO of their intention to join the world trade club as a customs union, but four months later the three former Soviet republics announced they would resume talks on accession separately, but working from synchronized positions.

MOSCOW, February 26 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20100226/158016538.html

 Azerbaijan renews war threats over Nagorny Karabakh

14:15 25/02/2010

Azerbaijan renewed threats of military action on Thursday to retake disputed Nagorny Karabakh over a lack of progress at talks with Armenia. "For 15 years diplomats have been unable to find any solid solutions to the conflict," Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said at a meeting with French Ambassador Gabriel Keller. "Azerbaijan cannot wait for another 15 years. It is time to use military rhetoric, this threat is becoming more imminent. If occupying Armenia does not free our lands, a large conflict will be inevitable in the South Caucasus," Abiyev said, as quoted by the Defense Ministry. A fragile ceasefire has been in place in the region since a brutal war between the two countries over the disputed enclave inside Azerbaijan with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population in the 1990s. The mediators in the dispute - the United States, Russia and France - reported some important progress as the Azerbaijani and Armenia leaders met in Munich late last year, but tensions remain high. Both ex-Soviet Caucasus states have continued to trade allegations of ceasefire violations. Azerbaijan, which has never ruled out military action to regain the territory and has spent billions on dollars on building up its military, has been using stronger rhetoric lately. The Munich meeting was the first since Azerbaijan’s fellow Muslim ally Turkey and Armenia agreed to restore diplomatic ties. Some 30,000 people died in the conflict, which erupted after the mountainous region declared independence in 1991. Nagorny Karabakh has been under Armenian control since a Russian-brokered ceasefire in 1994.

BAKU, February 25 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20100225/158003800.html

 Tajikistan votes in parliamentary election

11:04 28/02/2010

Polls opened on Sunday in Tajikistan’s parliamentary election, with the ruling People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan led by incumbent President Emomali Rakhmon expected to consolidate its power in the ex-Soviet republic’s legislature. The People’s Democratic Party is the largest among the eight officially registered political parties in Tajikistan, numbering 85,000 members. The party currently holds 52 of the 63 seats in the parliament. Rakhmon, who has ruled the impoverished Central Asian nation of 7.5 million for almost two decades, was re-elected leader of the People’s Democratic Party in December 2009. Rakhmon’s eldest son, Rustam Emomali, believed to be his father’s possible successor, is running for a deputy seat in the Dushanbe city council.

DUSHANBE, February 28 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20100228/158040686.html

 Tajik authorities declare parliamentary election vote valid

15:15 28/02/2010

Tajikistan’s top election body declared Sunday’s parliamentary election in the ex-Soviet republic valid, with more than 50% of eligible voters casting their votes. The election commission said 51.4% of registered voters had come to the polls as of 12:00 p.m. local time (07:00 GMT), crossing the electoral threshold of 50% plus one vote. Tajikistan is voting on Sunday in a parliamentary election, with the ruling People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan led by incumbent President Emomali Rakhmon expected to strengthen its power in the ex-Soviet republic’s legislature. The People’s Democratic Party is the largest among the eight officially registered political parties in Tajikistan, numbering 85,000 members. The party currently holds 52 of the 63 seats in the parliament. Rakhmon, who has ruled the impoverished Central Asian nation of 7.5 million for almost two decades with an iron fist, was re-elected leader of the People’s Democratic Party in December 2009. Rakhmon’s eldest son, Rustam Emomali, believed to be his father’s possible successor, is running for a deputy seat in the Dushanbe city council.

DUSHANBE, February 28 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20100228/158042023.html