On June 7 the prominent opposition journalist Batyrkhan Darimbet died in Taraz, southern Kazakhstan. He had been hospitalized since June 2 after a car accident near Taraz city, where he reportedly had gone to set up local branches of Alga, DVK! (Forward, Democratic Choice of... MORE

Despite considerable public interest, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's first visit to Kazakhstan was rather anti-climactic. Official media sources in Kazakhstan did not go beyond the set pattern for covering state visits, namely highlighting a growing trade volume (around $1 billion last year) and discussing economic... MORE

At the Baku inauguration events, President Nursultan Nazarbayev confirmed Kazakhstan's intention to develop a trans-Caspian oil transport system, linked to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. If achieved on the scale that is now envisaged, this export route could deeply dent Russia's near-monopoly on the transit of... MORE

The meeting between Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Chelyabinsk on May 17, and the subsequent arrival of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenka for a two-day visit to Kazakhstan the following day, allowed Astana to reiterate its commitment to Kazakhstan's alliance... MORE

While there seems to be no connection between Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev's unusually extensive tours to southern and western Kazakhstan in recent days and the riots in Andijan of Uzbekistan, the Kazakh strongman is obviously more concerned with his uncertain prospects for retaining power in... MORE

A recent session of Kazakhstan's cabinet of ministers commissioned plans for creating a trans-Caspian westbound export route for Kazakhstani oil, bypassing Russia on the shortest route to consumer countries. Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov and KazMunaiGaz (Kazakh oil and gas) state company chairman Uzakbay Karabalin endorsed... MORE

In the early 1990s, many policymakers in Kazakhstan and in Turkey were euphoric about the prospects of intense cooperation between ethnically related nations that had for decades been divided by an ideological iron curtain. Turkey, hoping to expand its influence in Russia-dominated but Turkic-speaking Central... MORE

Kazakhstan has moved significantly nearer its ambition to gain closer and more effective relations with the NATO Alliance. Astana has decided to abandon its long-term reliance upon dated Soviet munitions and Russian replacements. Instead, it will now prioritize the manufacture of NATO-standard ammunition for its... MORE

Around 500 policymakers and journalists from across the globe gathered in Almaty on April 21 for the Eurasian Media Forum. Kazakhstan's state officials tout the annual event as a unique opportunity to promote cross-cultural dialogue among civilizations. State-controlled media predictably offered exceptionally positive assessments of... MORE

On April 14 Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a new presidential decree on stepping up the fight against corruption and strengthening discipline in state bodies. However, even the president's own entourage gave lukewarm support to the new campaign. Understandably, corrupt government officials could hardly be... MORE