Following the publication of the “Kazakhstan-2050” strategy late in 2012, Central Asia’s biggest country carried out a series of structural reforms in 2013 aimed at modernizing its economic and social systems and optimizing its public finances. On January 16, President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced the creation... MORE

Two explosions shook the city of Volgograd in Russia’s Volga region on December 29 and December 30, killing 34 people and injuring more than 70. The first attack hit the city railway station while the second hit a city trolleybus (https://www.interfax.ru/russia/news/349933). As one attack followed... MORE

Seasonal festivities have been unusually subdued in Russia this year—families at every income level and of any ethnic composition are finding it difficult to forget their worries and focus on positive prospects for the coming year. One interval in the new calendar is clearly marked,... MORE

On November 30, Emomali Rahmon, the newly re-elected president of Tajikistan, held the first cabinet meeting of his new administration (Ozodi, November 30). In all, 22 new major appointments were made and the average age of cabinet members dropped from 56.7 to 52. The two... MORE

Kazakhstan is seeking to expand legal cooperation in criminal cases with the United States and potentially sign a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Washington. During his visit to Washington on December 6, Kazakhstani Prosecutor-General Askhat Daulbayev discussed with US Attorney General Eric Holder expanding... MORE

Belarus’s foreign minister, Uladzimir Makei, made noteworthy pronouncements at the summit of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership (EaP—which took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, on November 28–29) and at the 20th meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council (December 5–6,... MORE

2013 was a big year for Arctic commerce. But for Russia it was mainly a big a year for the re-militarization of the Arctic. Thus, Russian policy remains trapped between the priorities of commercial utilization of the Arctic and the region’s continuing military importance. In... MORE

If all goes as planned, then next year the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) will begin withdrawing from Afghanistan, completing its departure by the end of 2014. Logistical elements have already begun to be withdrawn by the United States and its Allies. But rising political... MORE

On December 10, the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation met in Baku. Besides discussing various economic projects to boost mutual trade and investment, ministers from the two governments considered how to expand cultural exchanges.The two governments have repeatedly expressed disappointment with their low levels... MORE

The authorities in Russia sometimes indulge in populist actions that harm their own interests. One example is the recent crackdown in Dagestan on representatives of Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (HuT). In 2003, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation designated HuT a terrorist organization and outlawed... MORE