Latest Articles about Kazakhstan
KAZAKHSTAN AND RUSSIA RENEW EFFORTS TO CURB DRUG TRAFFICKING
A shared opposition to the constant stream of drugs flowing from the poppy fields in Afghanistan is apparently one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia. Since Russia handed over responsibility for protecting the troubled Tajik-Afghan border to poorly equipped and... MORE
PRO-PRESIDENTIAL PARTY DOMINATES ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN KAZAKHSTAN
The party-list segment of Kazakhstan’s parliamentary elections, set for August 18, will be an uphill battle for opposition political forces in Kazakhstan. For all their irreconcilable differences and divergent policies, the assorted opposition contenders all must face the formidable, pro-presidential Nur Otan People’s Democratic Party.... MORE
KAZAKH-KYRGYZ ECONOMIC RELATIONS RECEIVE NEW BOOST
On July 11 Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov and Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev signed an agreement to establish a common investment fund that should increase economic assistance to Kyrgyzstan and boost relations between both countries. According to the agreement, Kazakhstan will invest $100 million,... MORE
NAZARBAYEV DISSOLVES MAJILIS, CALLS SNAP ELECTION
On June 20, speaking to parliamentary faction of his Nur Otan party, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he had decided to dissolve the lower chamber of parliament, the Majilis. In an unprecedented move, one day before that decision, 61 members of the Majilis had petitioned... MORE
SON-IN-LAW’S CASE RAISES NAZARBAYEV’S DOMESTIC APPROVAL
As the political scandal around Nurbank takes new twists, it is becoming evident that Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev is trying to use this highly embarrassing criminal case involving his runaway son-in-law, Rakhat Aliev, to score political points. Aliev is under investigation for shady financial practices... MORE
ASTANA RECONSIDERS RUSSIAN USE OF BAIKONUR
Oil-rich Kazakhstan is taking a new look at its Soviet-era space facility at Baikonur, reconsidering Russian use of the facility as well as evaluating ways to develop it as an increased source of profits for the government. Environmental concerns have become increasingly important to the... MORE
BOUCHER EXPLORES DEPTH OF KAZAKHSTAN’S SECURITY TIES WITH U.S.
Kazakhstan has praised its bilateral relationship with the United States as having achieved a great deal in recent years. Estimating the depth and potential for strategic partnership, Kazakh State Secretary Kanat Saudabayev explained, following his meeting in Astana with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard... MORE
KAZAKH PRESIDENT’S SON-IN-LAW FACES CRIMINAL CHARGES
On May 28 the Interior Ministry of Kazakhstan’s spokesman, Baghdat Kozhakhmetov, told journalists that Rakhat Aliev, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Austria, was on the run from the law and he has been classified an internationally wanted suspect. Aliev is married to Dariga Nazarbayeva, daughter of Kazakh... MORE
NAZARBAYEV GETS PARLIAMENTARY BACKING TO PERPETUATE HIS RULE
In a typical display of loyalty to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, on May 18 Kazakhstan’s parliament almost unanimously approved constitutional amendments proposed by the head of the state at a joint session of parliament only a day earlier. Addressing legislators on May 17, Nazarbayev had offered... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN BALANCES RUSSIAN GAS DEAL WITH HOMEGROWN PROJECTS
As Kazakhstan agreed on a joint venture with Russia to process gas from the Karachaganak field at Gazprom's Orenburg gas-processing plant, the deal will allow Astana to avoid spending billions of dollars to build its own gas-processing facility. Nonetheless, in the immediate aftermath of the... MORE