Kazakhstani people are generally not prone to air their political views in public. This is partly due to apathy, a fact regularly deplored by activists, and to some extent to fear of what the consequences might be. But the one topic that will raise people’s... MORE

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev has announced that five percent of London-listed KazMunaiGaz Exploration and Development (KMG EP), a subsidiary of the national oil and gas company KazMunaiGaz (KMG), will be floated on the Kazakh stock exchange in 2011. These shares are worth $500 million and... MORE

On February 21, Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission announced that 22 candidates had submitted their applications to participate in the upcoming presidential election scheduled for April 3, but only 14 were successful. Seven applicants, according to the Central Election Commission, were removed from the list of... MORE

Although Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev is expected to coast to an easy re-election victory on April 3, the predictable poll is full of unexpected color. A total of 22 presidential hopefuls from all walks of life, including the incumbent, submitted their nominations to the Central... MORE

Kazakhstan’s main opposition party Azat intends to boycott the country’s presidential polls to be held in early April, which President Nursultan Nazarbayev is expected to win by a wide margin.  This decision was made at the party’s congress in Almaty on February 12 because calling... MORE

On January 31, Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Council ruled against holding a national referendum that would have prolonged President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s term of office until 2020. Without objecting to Nazarbayev’s continuing presidential tenure, the council determined that resorting to a referendum in the form proposed, instead of... MORE

Weighing the option to prolong President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s term to 2020 by referendum, Kazakhstan’s governing elite has engaged in an unprecedented open debate. The process is of a far broader scope than any old-fashioned deal-making among leadership factions. By the same token it has attracted... MORE

Kazakhstan’s term as the chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had not quite ended, when a civic initiative group proposed in mid-December 2010 to prolong President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s term as head of state until 2020, by means of a constitutional... MORE

On January 6, Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC) announced its plans to exit the Central Asian power system. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan’s inability to reach regional agreements with Kazakhstan on electricity supply over the winter is the main reason for KEGOC’s decision. Due to technical... MORE

Russia and Kazakhstan have agreed to establish a joint regional air defense shield, with Moscow pledging to transfer several S-300 air defense systems to Astana. The S-300’s are designed to protect administrative, industrial, and military centers from tactical and strategic aviation attacks. Russia also invited... MORE