Summing up the main events of the widely hyped "Year of Russia in Kazakhstan," policymakers on both sides of the border have good reason to be disappointed. Even on the secondary level of inter-parliamentary contacts, leaders are not pleased with the state of bilateral ties.... MORE

Kazakhstan has opened a new hanger at a military air base in Karaganda, both commemorating Independence Day (December 15) and highlighting its image as a regional power prepared to take its place in constructing regional security and combating terrorism. Hailing the development at Karaganda as... MORE

To an outside observer, the December 6 presidential decree on electing of village governors (akims) and experimental elections of local leaders in several districts, including the cities of Astana and Almaty, appears to be a good omen of far-reaching political reform. The official wording of... MORE

During the first days of December, Kazakhstan was hit with several crises that deeply shook the state's belief in smooth, trouble-free development. Just as the investigations began into the causes of the explosions outside the agricultural library in Almaty (see EDM, November 30), reports emerged... MORE

With their own presidential election drawing nearer, officials in Astana might prefer to turn off all television channels broadcasting the contentious presidential election events in Ukraine. Instead, state-run media in Kazakhstan have done little more than re-broadcast a few images of the street demonstrations in... MORE

Two powerful blasts rocked Almaty on Sunday, November 28, around 7 pm. The explosions caused serious damage to an agricultural library and triggered a flood of rumors and speculation. While pro-government media suggested that it was merely the work of hooligans, investigators as well as... MORE

Major-General Bolat Sembinov, Kazakhstan's Deputy Defense Minister, completed an important trip to Washington on November 19 that has served to reaffirm the long-term nature of U.S. military assistance to Kazakhstan. Sembinov, who has been a critical influence behind much of Kazakhstan's military reform and its... MORE

Visiting Astana on November 16, World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn praised Kazakhstan for its recent economic performance and stressed that the poverty rate in the country has decreased from 18% to 12%. Most importantly, he said, Kazakhstan has made remarkable success in developing its... MORE

On November 16 the Senate (upper) chamber of Kazakhstan's parliament held a round-table debate that focused on the problems of terrorism and protecting human rights in conflict situations. Most of the participants said that Kazakhstan should wield a strong national ideology rather than military muscle... MORE

The National Security Committee (KNB) has announced a major coup in its anti-terrorist operations. In a televised interview, the first deputy director of the National Security Committee, Vladimir Bozhko, disclosed that the security services have uprooted a network of al-Qaeda terrorist operatives in Kazakhstan. He... MORE