Latest Articles about Central Asia
Russia Drums Up Support for Its Airbase in Kyrgyzstan
Five years after its establishment, Moscow will more than double its spending on the Russian military airbase in Kyrgyzstan’s Kant city. In 2009 and 2010 Moscow will spend 1.7 billion rubles ($60 million) compared with the 640 million rubles ($22.7 million) spent from 2003 through... MORE
Kyrgyz Security Structures Plagued by Corruption
In an effort to allay fears of rising Islamic extremism in Kyrgyzstan, Secretary of the Kyrgyz Security Council Adakhan Madumarov has held several meetings with residents of Nookat, Kara-Su, and Uzgen districts in southern Osh Region. Unrest in Nookat District on the October 1 Eid... MORE
Kazakhstan Offers Military Airfield to NATO Forces in Afghanistan
Recently, members of the Kazakhstan Senate ratified two agreements allowing U.S. and NATO coalition forces to use Almaty airport as an emergency airfield for fighter planes flying on missions to Afghanistan. The news hardly produced any comments from government headquarters, but what leaked through the... MORE
Kyrgyz Opposition Presents Its Program to the President, Sets Conditions
On December 3 a Kyrgyz opposition group comprised of leading political parties and organizations presented President Kurmanbek Bakiyev with its suggestions for changes necessary in the country’s political and economic systems. In particular, the group submitted a document adopted at a major meeting on November... MORE
Hydroelectricity or Irrigation: a Central Asian Dilemma
A regular lack of hydroelectric power during the winter in upstream Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and shortages of water during the summer in downstream Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are making it necessary that the Central Asian states find common grounds for long-term cooperation on water management in... MORE
Tension Mounts Between Tashkent and Astana as Uzbekistan Slams the EAEC Door
Uzbekistan’s recent decision to leave the Moscow-orchestrated Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC) hardly surprised anyone in the Kazakh Foreign Ministry who was familiar with Uzbek President Islom Karimov’s constantly changing attitudes toward political and economic structures within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and his deep... MORE
Uzbekistan Charts a New “Uzbek Path”
The Uzbek government's decision to withdraw from the Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC) is yet another example of Uzbekistan's determination to remain focused on what has come to be known as the "Uzbek Path." The EAEC website announced on November 12 that it had received a... MORE
Kyrgyz Opposition Splits, Seeks Alternative Ways To Fight Regime
Amid an energy crisis in Kyrgyzstan mainly caused by corruption among top-ranking political leaders, the Kyrgyz opposition has begun taking swift action against President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s regime. Bakiyev, in turn, is trying to counter the opposition’s protests by making promises yet again about developing the... MORE
Russia Wants New Airbase in Tajikistan
Russia’s defense priorities within Central Asia are changing in the aftermath of its war in the South Caucasus. There, the Russian armed forces rediscovered the importance of airpower, which it used efficiently to achieve rapidly its operational goals to the surprise of some Western analysts.... MORE
Energy Crisis Splits Ruling Party in Kyrgyzstan
Amid shortages of hydro-energy in Kyrgyzstan because of the critically low water level in the Toktogul reservoir, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s loyal supports are finger-pointing, accusing each other of false reports and corruption. Previously, it was mostly the opposition that criticized Minister of Energy Saparbek Balkibekov... MORE