Latest Articles about Central Asia
GAZPROM’S EFFORTS IN TURKMENISTAN UNMATCHED BY WEST
Gazprom president Aleksei Miller’s July 24-25 visit to Ashgabat brought Russia closer to its goal of monopolizing Turkmenistan’s proven and probable gas reserves for the next several years. Miller’s visit was the third by Gazprom’s top leaders to Turkmenistan in the last three months and... MORE
ISRAELI-KAZAKH COOPERATION GROWS
Since 1991 Kazakhstan has pursued a multilayered foreign policy, juggling its evolving foreign initiatives from hydrocarbons to military cooperation with its former Communist master Russia through growing relationships with China and the United States. Now a fourth player is entering the market—Israel, not for Kazakhstan’s... MORE
KYRGYZ MINISTER OF JUSTICE CONTINUES PROMOTING LEGALIZATION OF POLYGAMY
Last year prior to the celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, Kyrgyz Minister of Justice Marat Kaypov proposed to legalize polygamy as a means of fighting poverty and prostitution among women. Although his idea drew public attention, the parliament avoided discussing the minister’s... MORE
RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES IN KYRGYZSTAN PLAY POLITICS
The question of the spread of Islamic fundamentalism occupies a substantial part of political discourse in Kyrgyzstan. A new bill on “Freedom of religious practices and religious organizations” in particular is being actively discussed within the Kyrgyz government. While Kyrgyzstan’s two mainstream religious organizations, the... MORE
KASHAGAN PROJECT DELAYS SERVE RUSSIAN INTERESTS
At a recent government session Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov congratulated Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sauat Mynbayev on the successful outcome of talks with the international Agip KCO consortium developing the Kashagan oil field, the largest deposit found in the Caspian in the... MORE
MEDVEDEV PATIENTLY COURTING CENTRAL ASIAN LEADERS
On July 6 Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during their visit to Kazakhstan to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the renaming of Astana. Details on the talks are scarce, but with the prospect of another bilateral meeting at the Dushanbe Shanghai... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN HOSTS OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
The 17th session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly hosted by Kazakhstan in Astana from June 29 to July 3 is generally seen as an outstanding diplomatic victory for Kazakhstan on its uphill way to political recognition by the Western world. On the other hand, it... MORE
MONGOLIA HOLDS KHAN QUEST MILITARY EXERCISE
Since Mongolia abandoned Communism in 1990, it has sought to maintain its independence, sandwiched as it is between the two giant neighbors, Russia and China, by discreetly reaching out to the west and the United States in particular. While Mongolia has observer status in the... MORE
PUBLIC DEBATES ON HYDROPOWER SECTOR MANAGEMENT INTENSIFY IN KYRGYZSTAN
As inflation for food and energy is rising by the month, public debates about the government’s ability to handle the worsening economy are becoming ever more common in Kyrgyzstan. Local civil society groups and journalists voice concerns over the course of privatization of the country’s... MORE
MONGOLIA RIOTS
Suspicions of a fraudulent election, combined with rampant inflation, low living standards and perceptions of widespread corruption have combined to create a perfect storm of protest in Mongolia’s capital Ulan Bator, where in the evening of July 1 a crowd estimated at 8,000 to 10,000... MORE