An independent group of election observers released in Astana today its assessment of Kazakhstan’s April 3 presidential election. Comprised mostly of political and economic analysts from Washington think-tanks (including the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Institute for New Democracies, Hudson Institute, Georgetown University and... MORE

As the first anniversary of the April 7 “revolution” approaches, Bishkek is plagued by numerous small riots organized to challenge the parliament and government’s decisions. The riots may also be instigated by competing political forces ahead of the presidential elections later this year. The elections... MORE

The leadership of both Russia and Kazakhstan has announced plans to further develop their energy partnership. However, the two former Soviet allies remain slow to finalize some of their energy projects. Meanwhile, bilateral trade and Russia’s trade surplus has increased.During a meeting in Moscow on... MORE

It has all the accouterments of a real contested election. Four candidates are vying for Kazakhstan’s highest office in the land. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has dispatched its election monitors, thereby automatically giving the upcoming April 3 presidential vote a... MORE

Six years after ousting an unpopular leader and one year since yet another forceful regime change, Kyrgyzstan faces the dilemma of identifying the role of both events in the country’s recent history. The March 24, 2005, regime change, ousting President Askar Akayev and electing Kurmanbek... MORE

China’s rise on the international stage has been accompanied by an increase in its military's presence. Beijing's expanding ambition is prompting calls on the country's leaders to be more proactive in protecting its national interests. These calls by Chinese analysts have raised concerns about the... MORE

Future prospects for cooperation between China and Kazakhstan were high on the agenda during President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to Beijing on February 21. This overshadowed all other complicated and long-drawn out issues like the water sharing on Ili and Irtysh Rivers, on which a preliminary... MORE

Shortly after her recent visit to Washington, Kyrgyzstan’s President Roza Otunbayeva announced that two military training centers funded by the US and Russia will soon be opened in Kyrgyzstan (www.akipress.kg, March 15).According to the Kyrgyz president, the US center might be located in Batken oblast,... MORE

Though largely unnoticed by the media, China continues to expand its economic and therefore political and strategic position in Central Asia. This expansion even includes territorial revisions in China’s favor. In the energy sector Turkmenistan has agreed to sell China 20 billion cubic meters (bcm)... MORE

Since its creation in 2008, the Uyghur-based Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) has vowed to carry out jihad against the Chinese occupiers of Xinjiang, the massive western province of China that is known to its Muslim inhabitants as East Turkistan. While evidence of actual operations in... MORE