The postponed Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan summit took place last Friday (March 20) in Astana, but the program was cut so short that the only point for staging the event appeared to be to confirm President Vladimir Putin’s return to business as usual (Kommersant, March 21). Presidents Nursultan... MORE

The threat of Islamist radicalism in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia has been a topic of debate among the analyst community for many years, especially following the 9/11 attacks in the United States. In recent months, interest in the topic has surged again,... MORE

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s efforts to build the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB)—a network of transportation infrastructure across Eurasia—are unlikely to drive a step change in China’s energy trade with and investment in Central Asia. This is not only because of the already robust energy... MORE

Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the “Silk Road Economic Belt” in a “historic” speech at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan in the week before the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Kyrgyzstan in September 2013. The initiative was viewed by the rest of the region mostly... MORE

For those long-accustomed to the idea that the situation in the former Soviet space resembles that of France, where an education minister once famously claimed that he could say at any moment just which line of poetry French students across the country were studying, the... MORE

On February 25, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev made a televised address to the nation to announce an early presidential election that will take place on April 26. The head of state used his right to call an early election granted to him by article 41(3-1)... MORE

It has been a little over 100 days since Imangali Tasmagambetov’s appointment as the new defense minister of Kazakhstan last October. Born in the oil-rich Mangistau province, in the country’s west, the 58-year-old minister has had a particularly impressive career in politics. He first made... MORE

On December 26, 2014, Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov delivered an official briefing on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ 2014 activities. He provided a broad overview of Kazakhstan’s main foreign policy achievements and breakthroughs throughout the past year. Notably, President Nursultan Nazarbayev made eight official... MORE

On January 9, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier in Berlin in order to discuss the crisis in Ukraine and to propose hosting a heads of state meeting in Astana between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia,... MORE

In the current volatile energy market, Italy has again bet big on hydrocarbon-rich Kazakhstan, trying to re-cement its cooperation with the Central Asian republic. The bilateral partnership had been strained over the past two years by delays with the large-scale Kashagan oil field development venture,... MORE