The trials over the December 2011 violence in Zhanaozen are approaching their most dramatic phase. Several political opposition leaders are facing charges ranging from inciting public discord to calling for the violent overthrow of the government and establishing an organized criminal group. In January, Kazakhstan’s... MORE

Moscow has recently reacted with caution and patience following the announced suspension of Uzbekistan’s membership of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), while leading Russian military officials and experts continue to emphasize that the General Staff regard the risk of military conflict in Central Asia... MORE

As the Chechen Republic has been gradually rebuilt following the destruction of two wars, the Islamization of the region has become increasingly evident. While the federal center is not involved in Islamizing Chechnya, it has taken no steps to prevent it. The primary reason for... MORE

On July 9, speaking to Russian reporters at an air show near London, Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, a deputy director of Russia’s Federal Military-Technical Cooperation Service (FSVTS), which supervises the arms trade, announced that Moscow will not be signing new arms trade contracts with Syria or “sending... MORE

As a small, poor and isolated country, Kyrgyzstan, does not have the luxury of picking its foreign partners. While its leadership continues to look north to Kazakhstan and Russia in determining its geopolitical orientation, and to the West for some semblance of democratic self-affirmation, it... MORE

Bolat Baikadamov, director of the Nur Otan Parliamentary Institute, worries that “Uzbekistan’s withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO] […] weakens both the organization and the very situation of security in the region” (Vestnik Kavkaza, July 9). But Uzbekistan’s move does not present a... MORE

On July 6, floods swept through the western parts of Krasnodar region on Russia’s Black Sea coast, killing at least 160 people and leaving tens of thousands more without homes. Most of those killed were in the town of Krymsk, which has a population of... MORE

On June 28, Kazakhstan’s Senate amended the country’s transport regulations partly to allow for the state railways operator, JSC “NC” Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), to develop a transport and logistics company, spearheading the country’s transformation into a Eurasian transport hub (Kazinform, June 28). Exactly how... MORE

After failing to persuade Russia to change the current gas contract, Ukraine is threatening to break it. The state-owned oil and gas company Naftohaz Ukrainy will cut Russian gas imports from the 40 billion cubic meters (bcm) bought last year to 27 bcm this year,... MORE

Moscow plans to re-equip the multi-role brigades in the Russian Ground Forces with wheeled military vehicles. The decision to displace the existing tracked platforms is meant to enhance operational mobility. The initiative emanated from Army-General Nikolai Makarov, the Chief of the General Staff, who was... MORE