Monthly Archive

Kazakhstan launched a rare exercise in consulting with the general public earlier this year to defuse spreading discontent, but the authorities are now bracing to pull the plug on the experiment and r... read more..

In the wake of the deadly Almaty shootings, authorities in Kazakhstan are drawing up measures to step up the fight against extremism and considering the creation of a fingerprint and DNA register. “P... read more..

There were widespread protests against government land-reform plans in late April that culminated in countrywide rallies against government policies on May 21. Hundreds of people were arrested in the ... read more..

Iran, Russia, Venezuela and other authoritarian governments abuse the agency to target critics. Autocratic regimes and governments who sneer at the rule of law have found a new tool for harassing i... read more..

One of Kazakhstan’s last remaining independent newspapers has been ordered to pay heavy damages in a libel case that its editor believes was designed to drive it out of business. The ruling ordering ... read more..

In a disturbing development for Kazakhstan, another supposedly radicalized gunman singled out security forces for an attack — this time in the country’s largest city, Almaty. Interior Ministry said a... read more..

Few of Tony Blair's cronies have defended the former prime minister more vociferously after the damning conclusions of Sir John Chilcot's Iraq report than his one-time 'director of political operation... read more..

A Ukrainian postal stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of Stepan Bandera’s birth. Public Domain Symbols were important during the Soviet era. The hammer and cycle was the premier example. Then... read more..

Move over George Soros, Kazakhstan is claiming the title as the most prescient speculator in the pound. The former Soviet republic’s central bank bet against the currency before Britain’s surprise ... read more..

As Blair's liar-in-chief Alastair Campbell claims the moral high ground after Chilcot, the chilling memos that reveal how he touted for work to 'rebrand' one of the world's most repressive tyrannies ... read more..

Aron Bornstein arrived in Kazakhstan in February 2009 with $84m and a daunting assignment. His job was to hand out millions of dollars to impoverished families, non-governmental agencies and students ... read more..

Christians are condemning a provision in Russia’s soon-to-be-signed anti-terrorism law that prevents people from holding religious services in their homes. The provision is one of a raft of restric... read more..

Mega-projects are an endangered species in today’s oil and gas industry. As companies struggle to keep up their dividend payments with sharply reduced revenues, multiyear, multibillion-dollar commitme... read more..

Most of the routes from China to Europe pass via Kazakhstan’s vast landmass, located strategically on the crossroads between Europe and Asia. As China is expanding its economic outreach to Europe, the... read more..

A much-respected current affairs publication in Kazakhstan has announced it is set to close because of financial difficulties, further impoverishing a media scene dominated by outlets funded by the go... read more..

The 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly today elected Sweden, Bolivia, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan to serve on the world body’s Security Council for a period of two years, starting from 1 J... read more..