Monthly Archive

It’s unclear that Astana can match big ambitions with the reality of an underdeveloped bureaucracy. Kazakhstan, without a doubt, has capitalized on its natural resource wealth, using massive oil and ... read more..

Another day and another few Nordic executives are stepping back from their roles because of a corruption scandal in a former Soviet economy. Telenor ASA, a phone company owned by the Norwegian govern... read more..

In the face of his country’s ongoing economic turmoil, Kazakh President Nazarbayev is engaging in fast-paced diplomacy to boost his country’s growth prospects. Hot on the heels of high-level... read more..

Norway's Telenor ASA sought to control damage from bribery allegations engulfing its 33%-owned affiliate VimpelCom on Thursday, as Norwegian prosecutors detained a former VimpelCom chief executive and... read more..

THE Queen rolled the red carpet out today for the Kazakh dictator whose son-in-law bought Prince Andrew's house for £3 million more than the asking price. Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of Kaz... read more..

Senior security official Meng Jianzhu met Chair of the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan Nurtai Abykayev here on Wednesday, urging the two sides to enhance cooperation in fighting crime. Meng... read more..

Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose regime has been criticised by rights groups, will meet David Cameron, the Queen and UK business leadersThe man who has ruled Kazakhstan for two and a half decades, Presiden... read more..

In Texas or the North Sea, oil companies struggling with falling prices are firing thousands of employees. In Kazakhstan, it is not so simple. The central Asian nation was a poster child of the ... read more..

On August 31 Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Beijing, with the pair agreeing to build stronger ties. Xi welcomed Nazarbayev to China for his state... read more..

The Chinese alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize has gone to “a war-monger ... and a sadist who delights in the misery of the people”, said one critic of the award. At an award ceremony held at a hot... read more..

Since September 28, Afghan security forces have struggled to wrest control of Kunduz, capital of Kunduz province, from its seizure by the Taliban. As Kunduz adjoins Afghanistan’s frontier with Tajikis... read more..

Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank and the city of Almaty are suing a New York real estate developer, claiming he helped launder money. Earlier this week, Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank joined the city of Almaty, Kazakhst... read more..

While international attention has focused on Russian military operations in Ukraine and Syria, Moscow has also been involved in a flurry of diplomatic and security initiatives to address the growing i... read more..

Nagorno-Karabakh, the former Soviet Union’s oldest and most dangerous conflict, is waking up again. The 1994 ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan is under severe strain. Where there was occasional... read more..

Oil money is rolling into Kazakhstan, and new architectural landmarks in the capital city, Astana, reveal the country's economic aspirations. Jonathan Fryer recently visited the central Asian country ... read more..

Continuing a discussion on the role of money-laundering and the housing bubble. LA Biz Journal. “Economists at UCLA Anderson School of Management foresee healthy growth for the nation’s economy over t... read more..

Political divisions prevent the global community from reversing the rise of the Islamic State group, Kazakhstan's top diplomat said, urging world leaders to unite efforts to combat extremism. Foreign... read more..

Fresh from successes on Iran and with the pope, President Barack Obama still carried heavy burdens into critical meetings this week at the U.N. General Assembly. They include the threat from Islamic ... read more..

Kazakhstan’s diplomatic balancing act over the conflict in Ukraine has been upset by a fresh row about the status of the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine’s embassy in Astana on September 25 ... read more..

Caught between superpowers Russia and China, can Central Asia's "stans" exert their independence amid a changing energy landscape? Global energy is undergoing tectonic shifts. Strong US oil and gas ... read more..

Astana: Kazakhstan is rolling out colourful pageantry to celebrate 550 years of statehood, defying an economic downturn that has battered a country viewed as a post-Soviet success story. In scenes re... read more..

While the Kazakhstan national side languishes 145th in the world, the country’s leading club will become the first Kazakh side to play a Champions League group match, against Benfica on Tuesday On We... read more..

In Kazakhstan, it seems, there are second chances for daughters tainted by political scandal. After a few years lying low, Dariga Nazarbayeva, the eldest daughter of Kazakhstan’s President Nursulta... read more..

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev named his eldest daughter Dariga deputy prime minister as officials jostle to position themselves for a potential battle to succeed the longest serving ex-Soviet ... read more..

Nazarbayev says we should take Central Asia’s culture and history into account and quit calling him an autocrat.  Kazakhstan celebrated Constitution Day on August 30, marking 20 years since th... read more..

Former Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov is at the center of Kazakhstan’s still-expanding Karaganda corruption scandal. A witness in former Kazakh Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov’s corruption case has re... read more..

It is no secret that Central Asia’s autocratic regimes have a disdain for independent thought and criticism. While journalists have regularly been threatened, a less visible trend is the crackdown on ... read more..

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev reiterated his suggestion that Kazakhstan brand itself “Land of the Great Steppe” during the Aug. 28 conference “Constitution: unity, stability and prosper... read more..

Astana has big economic dreams and hopes to follow China’s example in combating corruption. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is in China until September 3, meeting with Chinese leaders, sett... read more..

The multinational agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is one of the most consequential non-proliferation moments in recent history. One byproduct of the current public debate on t... read more..