Eurasia This Week: January 12, 2023

January 12, 2023

A weekly review of news and analysis of elections in Eurasia, usually posted on Thursdays and occasionally updated throughout the week.

A scene from Kazakstan’s January 2022 protests. Photo credit: Wikimedia/Esetok (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Upcoming Eurasia Elections

Kazakhstan Senate Elections: January 14, 2023, followed by Snap Legislative Elections: Mid-2023 (proposed)

Assel Satubaldina, Astana Times (Janaury 12, 2023): What You Need to Know About Senate Election in Kazakhstan This Week

Meduza (January 12, 2023): Nursultan Nazarbayev stripped of honorary senator, leader of nation titles

RFE/RL (January 11, 2023): Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court Nixes Law On First President-Leader Of Nation

Asemgul Mukhitqyzy, RFE/RL (January 11, 2023): Kazakh ‘Yurt Of Invincibility’ In Ukraine’s Bucha Sparks Moscow-Astana Tensions

Yelnur Alimova, RFE/RL (January 10, 2023): ‘The Fire Could Be Ignited At Any Point’: Kazakhstan’s ‘Bloody January’ Through The Eyes Of Those Who Covered It

Alexandra Ivanova, DW (January 8, 2023): Kazakhstan marks a year since deadly fuel protests

Kathryn Armstrong, BBC (January 6, 2023): McDonald’s leaves Kazakhstan over supply shortages

Dmitriy Mazorenko and Paolo Sorbello, openDemocracy (January 5, 2023): Too little has changed in Kazakhstan in the year since ‘Bloody January’ – A ‘New Kazakhstan’ was promised after last January’s deadly protests. It looks a lot like the old oligarchic order

Lucian Kim, Foreign Policy (January 5, 2023): The Other Jan. 6: One year on, events in Kazakhstan that cemented its president’s grip on power remain shrouded in mystery.

Russia, Gubernatorial and Local Elections in Some Regions (including Moscow mayor): September 10, 2023, followed by presidential election due in September 2024

Mark Trevelyan, Reuters (January 11, 2023): Navalny’s wife and allies sound growing alarm over his health in jail

Elena Giordano, Politico (January 11, 2023): Hundreds of Russian doctors sign open letter asking Putin to ‘stop abusing’ Navalny

AP (January 10, 2023): Russia launches criminal investigations of prominent Kremlin critics

Tatiana Stanovaya, Carnegie Endowment (January 9, 2023): Russia Faces Three Pivotal Moments in 2023

Moscow Times (January 13, 2023): Kremlin Readies for Putin’s 2024 Re-Election Under Shadow of War – Kommersant

Moscow Times (January 9, 2023): Russia’s Ruling Party Uses AI to Purge Anti-War Voters – Reports

Guy Faulconbridge, Reuters (January 5, 2023): Putin ally Prigozhin grants freedom to first Russian convicts who fought in Ukraine

Ukraine Parliamentary Elections: By October 29, 2023 and Presidential Election: Spring 2024 (due)

RFE/RL (January 11, 2023): Zelenskiy Strips Citizenship Of Four Ukrainian Lawmakers, Including Putin Friend Medvedchuk

Liz Sly, Washington Post (January 8, 2023): Ukraine sees ‘year of victory’ but Russia has other plans

Georgia Parliamentary Elections: October 2024 (due)

Mikheil Saakashvili, Wall Street Journal (January 8, 2023): The West Can Stand Up for Democracy—and Save My Life: Putin hasn’t forgotten how my fellow Georgians and I fought back against Russia’s invasion in 2008.

Euronews (January 5, 2023): Protesters demand release of Georgia’s ex-president Saakashvili on health grounds

JAMnews (January 5, 2023): Michael McFaul: “Now is the time for a worldwide campaign for the release of Saakashvili”

Belarus Presidential Election: August 2025 (due)

Reuters (January 13, 2023): Russia says Belarus may enter Ukraine conflict if ‘invaded’

Omer Tugrul Cam, Anadolu Agency (January 12, 2023): EU to impose new sanctions on Belarus, Iran for ‘helping’ Russia in war on Ukraine: Spokesman

Igor Ilyash, openDemocracy (January 11, 2023): Lukashenka is repopulating Belarus with pro-government citizens: While moving to strip dissidents of citizenship, Belarus’s president is offering passports to a very different group

AFP (January 9, 2023): Independent News Outlet Staff Go on Trial in Belarus

UN News (January 6, 2023): Belarus: Trial of Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski ‘politically motivated’

Armenia Presidential Election: Due in 2025 and Parliamentary Elections: Due in 2026

Joshua Kucea, Eurasianet (January 13, 2023): Amid blockade, spotlight falls on Karabakh’s new, enigmatic leader: Is Ruben Vardanyan the savior of a nation, a Russian agent, or a billionaire with delusions of grandeur who is now in over his head?

International Foundation for Better Governance/EU Reporter (January 11, 2023): Is Moscow scheming for Ruben Vardanyan to be president of Armenia?

RFE/RL (January 10, 2023): U.S. Repeats Call For Reopening Lachin Corridor To Armenia, Blockaded By Azerbaijan

Past Eurasia Elections

Uzbekistan Presidential Election: October 24, 2021

RFE/RL (January 12, 2023): Uzbek Prosecutors Seek Lengthy Prison Terms For Karakalpak Activists

Regional Analysis

OC Media (January 13, 2023): What can the Caucasus expect in 2023? Our readers and staff give their takes

Eurasia Elections Coming Up in 2023

Kazakhstan Senate Elections: January 14, 2023

Turkmenistan Parliamentary and Local Elections: March 2023 (due)

Kazakhstan Snap Parliamentary Elections: March 19, 2023

Russia, Gubernatorial and Local Elections in Some Regions (including Moscow mayor): September 10, 2023

Armenia, Local Elections in Yerevan: September 2023 (due)

Ukraine Parliamentary Elections: October 29, 2023 (due)

Moldova Local Elections: October 2023 (due)

Belarus Local Elections: Due in 2023 (delays possible)

21votes does not necessarily agree with all of the opinions expressed in the linked articles; rather, our goal is to curate a wide range of voices. Furthermore, none of the individuals or organizations referenced have reviewed 21votes’ content. That is to say, their inclusion should not be taken to imply that they endorse us in any way. More on our approach here.

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