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Latest Articles about Central Asia
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Russia Oversees Tajikistan’s Efforts to Find Partners in South Asia
While Moscow's decision to open another base in Kyrgyzstan received intense coverage in the international media, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's recent visit to Tajikistan was largely overlooked. Along with the Presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Asif Ali Zardari and Hamid Karzai, Medvedev visited Dushanbe last... MORE
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Baku Surprised by Berdimuhamedov’s Inflammatory Statement
On July 24 Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov declared his country's intention to take Azerbaijan to the international court of arbitration (ICA) over disputed oil fields. This announcement has shocked the Azeri government. Berdimuhamedov, speaking at a cabinet meeting, blamed Azerbaijan for the unsettled legal status... MORE
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Xinjiang Crackdown and Changing Perceptions of China in the Islamic World?
The outbreak of ethno-sectarian unrest in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Autonomous Region (XAR) between members of the local Uighur community, an ethnic Turkic population that is predominantly Sunni Muslim, and ethnic Han Chinese, China’s majority ethnic group, has largely subsided on the surface. The hostilities began... MORE
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Russia Seeks to Boost Ties with Tajikistan
Russian officials have reiterated their continued interest in deepening bilateral cooperation with Tajikistan, while the authorities in Dushanbe appeared to remain hesitant on some issues. On July 31 the Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, traveled to Tajikistan, and used the opportunity to launch a major joint... MORE
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CSTO in Crisis as Moscow Secures Second Military Base in Kyrgyzstan
On August 1 the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his recently re-elected Kyrgyz counterpart Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced that a new Russian military base will open later this year in Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan. Symbolically important from Moscow's perspective, since Osh once hosted a Soviet airbase,... MORE
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Bakiyev Benefits from Recent Foreign Policy Moves, Opposition’s Weakness
Less than one week after the Kyrgyz presidential elections the Russian government confirmed its plans to open another military base in Kyrgyzstan. The base will be introduced in the country's south, close to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan's borders. Partly thanks to the new base deal, the... MORE
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Russia Promotes its “Sphere of Privileged Interests” in Kyrgyzstan
Speculation has recently mounted that Bishkek will agree to a request from Moscow to open a new Russian military base in southern Kyrgyzstan. On July 21 the Kyrgyz ambassador to Kazakhstan, Dzhanysh Rustenbekov, said the decision might be taken at the informal Collective Security Treaty... MORE
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Bakiyev Wins Presidential Election, Opposition Declares “War”
On July 23 the presidential election marked a new low point in Kyrgyzstan's democratic record. Incumbent president Kurmanbek Bakiyev earned 85 percent of the vote and immediately sought to suppress any opposition protests challenging the election result. Members of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP)... MORE
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Nazarbayev Purges Army of Corrupt Top Brass
One month after the dismissal of Kazakhstan's Defense Minister Daniyal Akhmetov by presidential decree on June 17, persistent rumors are still circulating about his alleged suicide. Unconfirmed reports in some media outlets suggest that Akhmetov shot himself when security police arrived to arrest him on... MORE
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Russia to Open New Military Base in Kyrgyzstan
Reports that the Kremlin plans to open another Russian military base in Kyrgyzstan have appeared over the past week. A delegation of Russian officials led by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin and Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov arrived in Bishkek to hold meetings behind closed... MORE