Monthly Archive

New details on Prince Andrew’s dealings with the Kazakh elite further underscore London’s relationship with Astana. While unprecedented protests rocked Kazakhstan last weekend–ending in hundreds of... read more..

Oil-rich Kazakhstan on Friday accused organisers of anti-land reform demonstrations last week of trying to overthrow the Central Asian country's government. Police had arrested dozens at May 21 ralli... read more..

The exiled leader of a former Soviet republic. And a well-connected New Zealand lawyer who divides his time between Auckland and a chic home in one of South America's most fashionable towns. What c... read more..

Kyrgyzstan's foreign ministry has summoned a Kazakh diplomat after Kazakhstan's culture and sports minister said he felt sorry for Kyrgyz migrant labourers having to clean public toilets in Russia. T... read more..

Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom (UK) are calling for a probe into Prince Andrew’s business deals in Kazakhstan after the Daily Mail obtained a set of leaked emails and reported on how the ... read more..

Astana authorities turn to courts to silence critics and reveal sources of leaks of government documentsKazakhstan has stepped up its campaign against independent journalists by imposing an 18-month j... read more..

The region’s leaders must ask themselves if they are ready to deal with new threats tailored to recruit the discontented. Since the beginning of March 2016, the Islamic State (ISIS) has been losing... read more..

Central Asia's autocratic leaders don't want to be liked. They want to be adored. When the Soviet Union collapsed, a clutch of nations emerged in the vast areas of steppe and mountains between Ru... read more..

She lives in Italy while her young children live in London with a nanny each. And that's not the only mystery about billionaire Goga Ashkenazi     Goga Ashkenazi is a Russian-raised '... read more..

Hundreds of Kazakhs have taken to the streets in a rare series of public dissent against President Nazarbayev Kazakh police derailed a fresh protest against land reforms on Saturday by detaining se... read more..

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has evoked the Ukraine conflict as protests continued over the Central Asian government's decision to privatize large tracts of state-owned agricultural land. Naz... read more..

Having prioritised economics over politics, Kazakhstan is well placed to weather the financial difficulties currently afflicting the Eurasia region From the publication of the Panama Papers to the co... read more..

The “biggest leak of confidential files in the history of the oil industry” exposed Unaoil’s slippery backroom machinations. Overshadowed by the massive Panama Papers leak, another series of recent r... read more..

The government in Kazakhstan has set a rare precedent by backing down over the planned land sales that sparked off a wave of major protests across the country. President Nursultan Nazarbayev announce... read more..

Astana has pushed the national unity narrative so strongly that there is little space for policy disagreements. While Astana’s plans to privatize swaths of unused land may make economic sense, local ... read more..

Authorities are facing tough choices in Kazakhstan, as demonstrations against plans to sell and rent swathes of farming land threaten to evolve into a broader anti-government movement. Some analysts a... read more..

Kazakhstan’s 25 years of political stability owe much to the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, making the prospect of the septuagenarian’s departure a significant source of the jitters for... read more..

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, facing a growing wave of protests against planned changes to land ownership, evoked the image of war-torn Ukraine on Sunday as he called for national unity. Spe... read more..