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.
Eurasia This Week: January 12, 2023
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Last Updated: January 21, 2023 by 21votes
January 12, 2023
A weekly review of news and analysis of elections in Eurasia, usually posted on Thursdays and occasionally updated throughout the week.
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.
Category: This Week Tags: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan