In the covert “great game” currently playing out between Russia and the United States to control the hydrocarbon assets of the Caspian, a glittering new prize has appeared on the horizon. Kazakhstan’s massive offshore Kashagan oilfield is the world's largest discovery in the last 30... MORE

Last week, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev again called for the reform of the country’s defense and security structures. On November 15, he ordered the various heads of the defense and security bodies to prepare detailed proposals for restructuring their agencies, as part of the ongoing... MORE

On November 5 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev arrived in Damascus for a three-day visit. Both Nazarbayev and his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, seemed satisfied with the talks, which covered investments, bilateral trade, and political ties. Beset by chronic economic and political troubles in the turbulent... MORE

Officially, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of the Interior (MVD) claims to have crushed the power of organized crime in the country. This assertion appears partly supported by the considerable reduction in the number of gangland killings since the 1990s. Nevertheless, Karavan newspaper reported on November 2 not... MORE

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao recently concluded a whirlwind tour of Central Asia following the sixth Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, held in Tashkent on November 2. While there, Wen met with Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Masimov. While no details of the meeting emerged, Wen... MORE

Kazakhstan’s military cooperation with the NATO Alliance appears to be progressing steadily, despite the problems emerging between NATO and Russia. On October 31 Robert Simmons, NATO representative for Central Asia and South Caucasus, met Kazakhstan’s Defense Minister Daniyal Akhmetov in Astana. An official press release... MORE

The unprecedented tough line taken by the Kazakh government in its row with the Italian Agip consortium may set an ominous precedent for prolonged confrontations with other Western companies. In a second challenge to Western investment, the district court in Atyrau region recently upheld the... MORE

At last week’s energy summit of Baltic, Black Sea, and Caspian countries, hosted by Lithuania in Vilnius (see EDM, October 12), Kazakhstan’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sauat Mynbayev provided a remarkably detailed picture of the country’s oil export policies, both ongoing and projected. Oil... MORE

The steeply rising price of bread in all regions of Kazakhstan, coming in the wake of controversial parliamentary elections, has fueled popular discontent with the ruling Nur Otan party and become an embarrassment for the government. Recently a group of protesters picketed the Almaty office... MORE

The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan has just finished a series of anti-terror exercises staged by Russia's National Anti-Terror Committee and the Federal Security Service (FSB), codenamed “Baikonur-Anti-Terror 2007” (Itar-Tass, September 26). Established by the USSR in 1955, Baikonur is the world's oldest and largest continuously... MORE