HEADLINES

• A blueprint for the reconstruction of Ukraine

  

  The scale of destruction in Ukraine is already staggering. A new CEPR publication builds on prior experiences with reconstruction following both wars and natural disasters to outline some principles for the future reconstruction of Ukraine. Efforts should include putting the country on the path to EU accession; establishing a stand-alone EU-authorised agency with autonomy to coordinate and manage aid and reconstruction programmes; recognising that Ukraine must own its reconstruction; encouraging inflows of foreign capital and technology transfers; a focus on grants rather than loans; and rebuilding around the principle of a zero-carbon future.

• All of the costs, none of the benefits: How inequality, abuse and corporate greed have contributed to discontent in Kazakhstan

  

  Dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries as authorities opened fire on protestors. Violence erupting through tear gas. Rubber bullets, followed by live ammunition. Journalists beaten and detained. Pervasive fear, even among those who have hidden inside.

• Analysis: Central Asian countries need to remain focused on reforms despite new security threats

  

  The dust from the sudden Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has not settled yet, and it is likely that new turmoil is just round the corner. But the fallout of the crisis on neighbouring countries can already be felt, and much more can be anticipated.

• As Russia stumbles, Turkey and Kazakhstan sense opportunity

  

  On the picture: Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during their meeting at the Kremlin on February 10, 2022. Since then, Russian-Kazakh ties have become less secure. Photo: Sputnik / Mikhail Klimentyev / Kremlin

  Kazakhstan is being wooed by Turkish investment and military hardware

• Can Kazakhstan Shed Its Kleptocratic Past?

  

  Fighting Graft in Almaty Will Also Test Western Anticorruption Commitments

• Column: War In Ukraine Spells Disaster For Central Asia

  

  In a world of economic interdependence, sanctioning Russia will likely prove more globally destabilizing than policymakers realize. To be effective, the West needs to look to vulnerable Russia-dependent economies, like those of Central Asia, in order to mitigate collateral damage.

• CONTESTING RUSSIA REQUIRES RENEWED US ENGAGEMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA

  

  When US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III declared that Washington wanted to see Russia so “weakened” that it would no longer be able to invade a neighbouring state, he lifted the veil on US goals in Ukraine. He also held out the prospect of a long-term US-Russian contest for power and influence.

• Controversial think-tank #ODF in Brussels move

  Despite being banned from the EU, Lyudmila Kozlovska (pictured), president of the Open Dialogue Foundation, has relocated her HQ to Brussels, writes James Hipwell.

• Court sentences the former head of BTA Bank Ablyazov in absentia to 15 years in prison

  

   The court sentenced the former chairman of the board of directors of BTA Bank JSC Mukhtar Ablyazov in absentia to 15 years in prison, confirmed on Monday the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation. The civil claim of BTA Bank for more than 173 billion rubles is also satisfied.

• Dariga Nazarbayeva: Kazakhstan’s understudy president

  

  The Moscow-educated opera singer is primed to be the country’s first female leader

  This week, his prophecy began to take shape. Mr Nazarbayev, 78, unexpectedly announced he would resign from office after almost three decades in charge, and appointed his eldest daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva as Speaker of the country’s Senate, a role that occupies second place in the line of succession.

• Dictators’ funds in Switzerland – the biggest scandals

  

  On the picture:  Dispossessed farmers dance in front of the Marcos Monument after suffering for years under dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He and his wife Imelda were overthrown by the "People Power" revolution in 1986. Peter Charlesworth/LightRocket

  For a long time Switzerland was considered a safe haven for the ill-gotten gains of many dictators, not least because of its banking secrecy. In recent years it has been a leader in fighting dirty money, although the past has not gone away. We look at 15 of the most infamous cases involving illicit funds in Switzerland.

• EU Nations Have Frozen More Than $32 Billion in Russian Assets

  

  • Bloc’s new Freeze and Seize task force reports latest numbers
  • EU urges nations to report back about sanctions enforcement
• Experts of the Committee against Torture Commend Kazakhstan for Enhanced Legislation

  

  Ask Questions about January 2022 Events and Complaint Mechanisms for Prisoners

• Fiji grants US a warrant to seize Russian billionaire’s megayacht

  

  The case highlights the legal difficulties Western governments may face as they attempt to seize assets tied to Russian tycoons who enabled the Ukraine invasion

• How Kazakhstan society is divided over the Russia-Ukraine war

  

  In Kazakhstan, where a Soviet past still lingers, there are clear generational divides in opinion towards Putin’s invasion

• How Western Media Framed Kazakhstan’s Protests

  

  Protesters take part in a rally over a hike in energy prices in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Jan. 5. Abduaziz Madyarov/AFP via Getty Images

  Harrowing images of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have shocked the public—but also raised tough questions about whose lives matter in the West.Critics have focused on the telling contrast in coverage between the welcome given to Ukrainian refugees and the cold shoulder given to those from countries like Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan as well as the lack of assistance provided to African and South Asian students trying to leave Ukraine. Before the Russian invasion, however, another country in Eurasia elicited similar questions.

• Kazakh activists keep battling as Xinjiang crackdown evolves

  Theyve taken him again, said Munai Taskairat kyzy, sobbing over the phone.

• Kazakh President Emphasizes Importance Of China-Europe Transportation Route Bypassing Russia

  

  On the picture: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets his Kazakh counterpart, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, in Ankara on May 10.

  Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev said after a visit to Ankara for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that a new transportation route connecting China with European markets bypassing Russia is important for the two nations.

• Kazakhstan: Nervous authorities keep election observers at arm’s length

  

  Even though there is no danger of independent parties getting into parliament, authorities fear renewed protests.

• Kazakhstan: Nervous authorities keep election observers at arm’s length

  

  Even though there is no danger of independent parties getting into parliament, authorities fear renewed protests.

• Kazakhstan: What is Nazarbayev's transition plan about?

  And can it be a model for other countries in the region to follow, namely Russia?

• Kazakhstan: While president talks dialogue, activists get harassment

  

  While Kazakhstan's president has talked up the need for national dialogue as a way of tamping down political tensions, individual activists say they have faced harassment and restrictions on their right to move freely.

• Kazakhstan’s Oil Meets a Caspian Chokepoint

  

  Much of the oil produced in Kazakhstan transits through a pipeline across Russia, which now has shrunk output for a variety of reasons.

• London centre for Russian-enabling’ Campaigner demands UK follow EU ban on Putin puppets

  

  THE UK should ban Vladimir Putin's network of advisors, just like the EU is doing, an anti-corruption campaigner says.

• Not just Russian oligarchs: Britain must block Kazakhstan’s kleptocrats from securing a safe haven

  

  Long synonymous with Sherlock Holmes, the building at 221B Baker Street in London now represents a tragic irony: The fictional crime-fighter’s address has been linked to the kleptocratic regime of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the de facto authoritarian ruler of Kazakhstan from 1990 until recently. His first daughter, Dariga, has been reported as owning this property and a significant number of other London residences. (Dariga Nazarbayeva, through an attorney, declined to comment when asked about this.)

• Russians Flock to EU Court in Long-Shot Bids to Topple Sanctions

  

  On the picture: Dmitry Konov filed his appeal at the EU General Court in Luxembourg on June 1.Source: Bloomberg

  • Some 20 sanctioned billionaires have filed EU court appeals
  • EU sanctions challenges can last many years, with wins rare
• Statement by the Spokesperson on the presidential elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan

  

  In the light of the shortcomings reported by the OSCE/ODIHR Mission, we expect Kazakhstan to address these violations, as well as the controlled legal and political electoral framework, as they run counter to the country's OSCE commitments and international obligations.

• The Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Implications for Kazakhstan’s Energy Sector

  

  If Kazakhstan’s multi-vector foreign — and energy — policies are to be successful, Tokayev will need to shrewdly balance the country’s partners.  

• The silence is broken: What lies ahead for universities?

  

  On 2 January 2022 ‘Bloody January’ erupted in Kazakhstan, taking the form of massive protests and violent demonstrations. These were the direct result of a sudden increase in liquified gas prices the day before, but more generally were part of a metastasising unease with the government and with economic inequality.
  
  

• Turkmenistan’s dynastic transfer of power has a twist

  

  Turkmenistan’s transition ushers in a new hybrid model of governance, but its entrenched authoritarian system and all-pervasive kleptocracy is unlikely to change.

• US refocuses on Central Asia after Russia's show of Eurasian solidarity

  

  As Eurasia becomes a hotbed of strategic alliances amid growing geopolitical uncertainty stretching from Afghanistan to Ukraine, the United States has dispatched a high-level delegation on a five-day visit to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to strengthen its relations with the Central Asian countries.  

• Virtually no progress in exploration of gas fields in Kazakhstan - President

  

   There is virtually no progress in the exploration and development of gas fields in Kazakhstan, including that on the assets in the Caspian Sea, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.