![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-central-asia.jpg)
Latest Articles about Kazakhstan
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Masanchi-clashes-aftermath-EDM-February-11-2020-640x480.jpg)
Threat of Inter-Ethnic Violence Emerges in Kazakhstan
On the night of February 7–8, in the city of Masanchi, in eastern Kazakhstan near the border with Kyrgyzstan, several hundred ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Dungans clashed. They exchanged gunfire and, as a result, at least eight people died and dozens more were hospitalized. Numerous... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ap-640x498.jpg)
A Year in Review: Nazarbayev Steps Down From Kazakhstani Presidency but Retains Control
Unlike previous periods, 2019 was a single-issue year for Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy and the second-biggest exporter of hydrocarbons in the former Soviet space behind Russia. The country is also a security linchpin in a landlocked region lying between the Caspian Sea to the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Central-Asian-leaders-summit-Tashkent-EDM-December-13-2019-640x359.jpg)
Uzbekistan Hosts Second Central Asian Consultative Summit
The Second Central Asian Leaders’ Consultative Summit—involving the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan—was supposed to take place during the Navruz holiday (March), in the Uzbekistani capital of Tashkent; but it ended up being postponed several times due ostensibly to... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/https-s3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com-psh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4-images-3-2-7-2-2702723-8-eng-GB-0512N-train-640x426.jpg)
China’s Trade With Europe Bypasses Russia in Both the North and the South
Russia has long counted on its geographic location between the Asia-Pacific region and Europe to cement its relationship with China. However, Beijing increasingly views Russia as merely a supplier of raw materials (Svobodnaya Pressa, April 27)—a view reinforced anew on Monday (December 2), by the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Chinese-train-via-Marmaray-November-7-EDM-December-2-2019.png)
Chinese Use of Marmaray Subsea Tunnel Another First for Belt and Road Initiative
On November 7, at 3:30 A.M., a westbound train from Xi’an, China, for the first time ever used Istanbul’s $4 billion Marmaray sub-Bosporus railway tunnel to dispatch goods to central Europe (Haber.sol.org.tr, November 7). The train’s voyage represents another of China’s attempts to shave time... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Kazakhs-China-internment-camps-640x427.jpg)
Chinese Repression of Muslims in Xinjiang Echoes Across Central Asia
Beijing’s efforts to expand its power in Central Asia by investment and cooperation with the governments in the region (see China Brief, November 19, 2019; see EDM, April 4, 2019, January 30, 2018, August 2, 2016) are currently being undercut by the reactions of Central... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/lin_fig1.png)
A State Visit by Kazakhstan’s President Demonstrates China’s Increasing Influence in Central Asia
Introduction Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s recent visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on September 10-12 was not merely a state visit, but also signaled a new era in bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and China. During his visit, Tokayev met top officials of the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/94762-640x360.jpg)
Russia’s ‘Coal Weapon’: Hampering Kazakhstani Exports to Ukraine
The press service of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan reported, on October 25, that Russia’s current ban on the transit of some Kazakhstani goods contradicts the fundamental principles of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Russia’s restrictions are negatively affecting... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Armenia’s-Disease-Control-and-Prevention-Center-ribbon-cutting-Amb-Richard-Mills-October-16-2017-EDM-November-4-2019.jpeg)
Russian Military Personnel Will Be Guaranteed Access to Biological Laboratory in Armenia
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is scheduled to visit Yerevan on November 10–11, during which time, Russia and Armenia are expected to sign a bilateral memorandum on cooperation in biomedicine. Reportedly, the negotiated document will guarantee Russian specialists (including the military) access to an advanced... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Nursultan-Nazarbayev-and-Kassym-Zhomart-Tokayev-EDM-October-31-2019-640x359.jpg)
Succession Appears Less Clear as Kazakhstan’s Former President Nazarbayev Formally Takes on Vast Powers
On October 21, the Kazakhstani media space went into a frenzy following the publication of a presidential decree that endows the now-former president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, with extensive executive responsibilities. More specifically, Nazarbayev’s successor, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, signed off on Nazarbayev’s de facto veto power over high-level... MORE