With the recital of verses from the Koran, on June 7 the seventh World Islamic Economic Conference opened in Astana. The widely publicized event marked an important milestone in Kazakhstan’s relations with Islamic states and a new diplomatic overture on the international scene for the... MORE

Ten years after its formation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is overshadowing its regional Russian-led competitor the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). At the June 15 SCO summit in Astana, China demonstrated how its economic growth and political influence in the region has superseded that... MORE

On May 31, a group of Afghan cattle raiders stole some 80 cows from a farm in Shurobod district, on Tajikistan’s southern border with Afghanistan. Under the cover of the night, the armed raiders drove the cows across the Panj River, which separates the two... MORE

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) comprising China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan was officially created on June 15, 2001. At the time the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, while the secular dictators of the impoverished, weak and corrupt former Soviet Central Asian “Stan” states were panicking.... MORE

For Kazakhstan May was full of economically and geopolitically significant developments worth exploring in the national, regional, and global contexts. The country hosted the 4th Economic Forum in Astana on May 3 – 4, designed to assess economic challenges facing the world economy and explore... MORE

One year after the four-day ethnic violence in Osh, the situation on the ground remains stable, but tense. There is no clear explanation yet as to why the conflict had spread and whether it was a predominantly top-down or bottom-up mobilization of violence. Although President... MORE

At a time when protesters are taking down the governments of long-serving authoritarian rulers in Middle Eastern and North African countries, opposition movements in the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia are also taking their struggle to the streets in their respective countries to... MORE

Russia, one of the world’s leading energy producers and exporters, has recently announced its decision to significantly increase customs duties on the fuel it sells abroad starting on May 1. Viewed as a temporary  measure to rectify the country’s domestic fuel deficit and rising inflation... MORE

In an effort to boost their own popularity, Kyrgyz Members of Parliament (MPs) are increasingly resorting to symbolic politics. To date, MPs have suggested changing the country’s flag, national anthem, and even the titles of local government officials. Altering state symbols has turned into a... MORE

On May 26, the Kyrgyz parliament voted to declare Finish diplomat Kimmo Kiljunen and leader of the Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission’s (KIC) investigation as persona non grata. By doing so, 95 MPs (out of 120) who voted for the resolution, have demonstrated an incapacity to handle... MORE