Monthly Archive

Amid the modern and futuristic landscape of Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital, and in the large city of Almaty, something rarely seen has appeared in recent weeks and months: protesters. Kazakhstan’s tenge... read more..

Kazakhstan’s president could hardly be expected to run for parliament, so the ruling Nur Otan party has gone for the next best thing: The actor who played him as a young man in the biopic. Nurlan Ali... read more..

Not long ago it all looked so much better: oil prices were high, the middle classes were growing and the autocrat-father of the state, Nursultan Nazarbayev, presided over 17m grateful subjects. Yet to... read more..

After years of embarking on promising forays into Central Asia’s economy, Russia is being forced to pare back its ambitions. The starkest retreat of Russian money is seen in Kyrgyzstan, whose parli... read more..

Major geopolitical shifts and internal dynamics are setting the stage for possible increased great-power competition in Central Asia between Russia and China at a time when the region is becoming less... read more..

Two activists were recently jailed for “inciting national discord.” With both oil prices and the Russian ruble continuing to search for their respective floors, Kazakhstan’s economic maelstrom shows ... read more..

Armor-clad warriors surge out from behind a rocky outcrop and gallop across the steppe amid a thunder of hooves, banners flapping in the breeze and swords aloft. Emitting furious war cries, they desce... read more..

Russia is a great power whose reach now exceeds its grasp. Although capable of bold moves, it is beset by strains. In 2016, Moscow will face pressures to align ambitions with means, but this will req... read more..

Hoping to use the "U.S. court system as a weapon in its war against a free press," Kazakhstan's government subpoenaed Facebook for information that could endanger such dissidents as editor it incarcer... read more..

The Expo 2017 global gathering will showcase developments from around the world in the field of green, renewable and sustainable energy. Expo 2017 will place Astana, Kazakhstan in the international sp... read more..

Hot on the heels of a graft scandal that has blighted a flagship exhibition to be staged in Kazakhstan’s capital comes news that its budget is being slashed – again. With Kazakhstan in the throes of ... read more..

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev dissolved the lower house of parliament Wednesday and called a snap election, urging the nation to consolidate at a time of economic hardship caused by the crash ... read more..

Kazakh National Security Committee Chairman Nurtay Abykayev (standing) receives his marching orders from Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev during a meeting with the country’s intelligence agency o... read more..

After reading my earlier posts about privatization opportunities in Kazakhstan and the deterrent effect of the FCPA on American investment in that country, and Kazakh listings in the U.S., a reader as... read more..

Russian President Vladimir Putin is well-known for being a man who does not do things by half measures. The anti-Turkish campaign launched by the Kremlin is proof of this. Ever since Turkey shot ... read more..

Central Asia is seldom covered in the international press and when it is, it is often condensed politically, geographically, and economically into a single unit — an amalgamation that does the job but... read more..