![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-central-asia.jpg)
Latest Articles about Kazakhstan
![](/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/63a2f98885f5407fea3e0302.jpg)
Russia Now Forced to Look East of Caucasus to Reach Iran
Russian officials and international media have given prominent coverage to Moscow’s plans for a transcontinental trade corridor southward to Iran via the Caucasus. These efforts aim to end-run Western sanctions and expand Russian trade in the Indian Ocean basin and beyond. But Russian experts concede... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/W020220915452750861911.jpg)
Kazakhstan’s Expanding Multi-Vector Foreign Policy
Recently, Kazakhstani Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov declared that, while his country maintains close ties with Russia and Uzbekistan on gas transit, no formal discussions have been held regarding the possible formation of a gas union, the trilateral initiative suggested by Russian President Vladimir Putin (Radio... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tokayev-and-Putin-nov-28-640x385.jpg)
Despite Moscow Meeting, Kazakhstan Pursues More Independent Course
After his re-election, Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made his first foreign visit to Moscow on November 28, an action that, up to now, most observers would have seen as a clear expression of loyalty or even subservience to Russia by the head of a post-Soviet... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Kherson-remove-street-banners-640x427.jpg)
Never Say Forever: How Russia’s Borders Became Imaginary
Video footage of how enthusiastically the inhabitants of Kherson, with tears of joy, greeted their liberators from the Ukrainian Armed Forces has spread globally (YouTube, November 13). Against this backdrop, the official published data on the results of the “referendum” held by the occupation administration... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Tokayev-wins-640x411.jpg)
Kazakhstani President Tokayev Receives Mandate for Promised Reforms
Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev secured a second term in office following the snap presidential elections held on November 20, winning 81 percent of the vote. Tokayev will serve a single seven-year term, according to changes in the country’s constitution that increased the mandate from five to... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/OTS-2022-summit-640x377.jpg)
After Samarkand Summit, the OTS Charts a More Independent Course
On November 11, a summit of the leaders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) convened in Samarkand, Uzbekistan (Report.az, November 5). This major gathering came amid the OTS’s re-emerging significance as a key regional organization and a critical platform for rapprochement between the Central... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Xi-and-Tokayev.jpg)
As Russian Influence Plummets, China Capitalizes in Central Asia
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has finally initiated its highly anticipated railway project to Uzbekistan. On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held in September 2022, the official decision was made to begin actively working on the railway (The Diplomat, September... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Tokayev-at-UN-GA-640x375.jpg)
Russia’s Position in Central Asia Continues to Slip
A major casualty of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine has been its weakening position and leverage in Central Asia. In truth, this war has plainly demonstrated Moscow’s risky imperial impulses are clearly damaging the region. The most obvious example of the region distancing itself from... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/tokayev-election-2022.webp)
Snap Presidential Elections in Kazakhstan: Democratization or Autocracy?
About three weeks remain until the snap presidential elections in Kazakhstan, which are scheduled for November 20—18 months ahead of the original 2024 date (Tengrinews, September 22). In the words of Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, changing the election date was necessary “to reload the main... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Samarkand-transit-640x427.jpeg)
Uzbekistan: An Aspiring Transport Hub for Central Asia
Throughout the Russo-Ukrainian war and a period of tense relations between Russia and Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan has followed a proactive track of transport diplomacy to strengthen its geopolitical and geo-economic position through Eurasian rail trade. The main aim of Tashkent’s diplomacy is to transform itself from... MORE