When 60-year-old Su Huiping, a Shanghai embroidery artist, put a nearly invisible silk thread through the tiny eye of a needle, a group of distinguished observers couldn't help but marvel.
On April 29, after months of anticipation, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Russia met in Minsk to put the finishing touches on the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), an ambitious plan to unite into a single economic entity. Observers from Washington to Moscow expected this meeting to be the last step before the official signing of the EEU treaty in May. But something went wrong.
Russian President Vladimir Putin convened an "informal" summit of his allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization last week as Moscow faced continued international isolation over its role in the Ukraine crisis. But the event only highlighted the misgivings of Russia's foreign policy direction, even among its closest allies.
NATO formally opened its liaison office in Uzbekistan on Friday, a year after it started working and amid heightened Russian rhetoric about the western alliance encroaching on its backyard.
The municipality of Almaty is suing Viktor Khrapunov, a former mayor and a foe of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in the United States, accusing him of having "systematically looted" millions from city coffers over a decade ago.
As in Europe, scepticism towards regional integration is on the rise in Kazakhstan. And just like the Old Continent, Astana is learning to play this to its advantage...
Victory Day on May 9 was an occasion for Russians to indulge in patriotic flag waving in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin used the previous day to muster a show of diplomatic support for his efforts to bring formerly Soviet states closer together.
After a lapse of more than a century, the Great Game has begun again — in Kiev of all places. In the 19th century, the Great Game was the rivalry between the British and Russian empires for Central Asia. England was wary that Russia's relentless expansion would one day threaten the jewel in the imperial crown, India. Both sides vied to dominate Central Asia's markets.
American citizen Alexander Narodetsky was questioned by Maltese police. A journalist and former director of Radio Free Europe in Kiev was arrested in connection with criminal investigations that have led to the freezing of assets of Kazakh exile and multi-millionaire Rakhat Aliyev.
A Manhattan judge ordered the president of Kazakhstan's brother to provide assurances that his ex-wife will not be re-arrested when she flies home after finalizing a lopsided settlement agreement.
