Reuters points out some members of the CIS are having some disagreements with the Kremlin.This year's Presidential Cup horse race, a traditional cue for an informal gathering of the 11-member Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), drew only five top guests: the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Tajikistan.
The presidents of Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan all failed to show up, citing personal reasons. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko went instead to ride a Harley-Davidson at a local bikers' rally.
"The CIS leaders used the chance ... to show they are unhappy with the state of relations with Russia," said Alexei Mukhin, head of the Center of Political Information think tank.
Medvedev's predecessor Vladimir Putin had managed to stiffen the loyalty of the ex-Soviet states, helped by their economic dependence on Moscow and their fear of popular revolutions. But Russia's war with Georgia last year and a series of bilateral spats have strained this loyalty again.
"A race away from Russia is inevitable," analyst Leonid Radzikhovsky said on an opposition-minded web site, Yezhednyevny Zhurnal.
I suppose Russia will have to understand that you can't attract flies with vinegar. And to think that Russia is indeed a potentially very rich country with an incredible human potential and wonderful resources! If only it would concentrate on diversifying its economy and achieving the kind of growth China has been enjoying, it would reap all kinds of political benefits from its neighbors without even having to press them for that. I really don't understand why the Russians can't see that.