Kazakhstan's citizens have become accustomed to broken promises of radical political reform since the country became independent in 1991. Even members of Kazakhstan's "pocket parliament" admit that public confidence in the legislature's integrity has dramatically plummeted in recent years. On March 10 parliament made yet... MORE

Experts in Kazakhstan had wondered if economic and political relations between Kazakhstan and Ukraine would diminish after Viktor Yushchenko became president of Ukraine. But Ukrainian State Secretary Alexander Zinchenko's March 3 visit to Astana dispelled this pessimism. Moreover, the Ukrainian guest assessed his first trip... MORE

On March 1, non-governmental activists staged two simultaneous demonstrations in Kyzylorda and Shymkent, crisis-ridden cities in south Kazakhstan, to call attention to the environmental threat allegedly posed by projects of PetroKazakhstan Inc., a Canadian oil company that has worked in Kazakhstan for seven years. Around... MORE

In his annual message to the nation, delivered on February 18, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev made yet another well-calculated move to polish his personal image as an ardent supporter of Central Asian integration. "I propose creating a Union of Central Asian states," he announced. Indulging... MORE

In his annual message to the nation last April, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed concerns about the worsening demographic situation in the country. He challenged government agencies to boost population growth in order to reach a population of 20 million people by the year 2015.... MORE

Recently police in the small town of Kentai, Kazakhstan, discovered a cache of books and leaflets propagating the ideas of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an Islamist radical organization. The extremist literature, hidden in the attic of a private house, was printed in Uzbek, Russian, and Kazakh. While police... MORE

At a press conference held on February 2, the chairman of the Almaty-based Russian Observer Research Center, Fedor Miroglov, revealed that ethnic Russians living in Kazakhstan are being illegally recruited to serve in the Russian army. He said that in 2003 more than 100 Russians... MORE

Last month the government of Kazakhstan approved a new strategy for developing the country's hydroelectric energy resources. Kazakhstan plans to build 20 power stations, with a total capacity of 4.8 kilowatts per hour, by the year 2015. Most of the stations will be located in... MORE

Kazakhstan's Deputy Defense Minister, Major-General Bolat Sembinov, concluded a successful series of meetings with senior NATO officials in Brussels on January 21. The meetings signify a clear turning point in Kazakhstan's relations with the Alliance, seeking mechanisms through which the Kazakhstani armed forces may benefit... MORE

The Russia-Kazakhstan border delimitation agreement concluded during President Nursultan Nazarbayev's January 17 visit to Moscow was heralded as an historic accord. It was the first such agreement ever signed between Caspian states and took five years to conclude. Now, for the first time in its... MORE