Latest Articles about Kazakhstan

TERRORISM AND NATIONALISM: TWIN THREATS TO KAZAKHSTAN

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

ASTANA LAUNCHES AMBITIOUS HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECT

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 INCHES TOWARDS NATO

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

RUSSIAN-KAZAKH BORDER AGREEMENT SPARKS NATIONALIST REACTION

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

KAZAKHSTAN INTRODUCES NEW EFFORTS TO SUPPRESS RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM

Police in Almaty have detained supporters of the Islamic organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir who had organized an unauthorized demonstration close to the central city mosque on the morning of January 20. The police media department told the Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency: "Police officers detained almost all demonstration participants,... MORE

KAZAKHSTAN SUFFERS FIRST DEATH OF PEACEKEEPER IN IRAQ

Kazakhstan has suffered its first military casualty in Iraq. On January 9 Captain Kayrat Kudabayev died from his injuries after an explosion in Al-Suwaira, north of Wasit province. This incident marks a significant test for Kazakhstan in its ongoing commitment to peace support operations within... MORE

ASTANA PLEDGES STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA

On January 12 Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Almaty for a two-day official visit, his first foreign trip of the new year. Abandoning the usual practice of announcing upcoming visits by state leaders, Kazakhstan's official media refrained from publicizing Putin's visit prior to his... MORE

ASTANA WORKS TO STAVE OFF UKRAINE’S ADVANCING ORANGE TIDE

Days before New Year 2005 began, leaders of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, and Ak Zhol Democratic Party paid a visit to Kyiv to congratulate Viktor Yushchenko on his victory in the Ukrainian presidential elections. This symbolic gesture of solidarity between... MORE