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Latest Articles about Central Asia
KAZAKHSTAN NOTES AFGHANISTAN’S EMERGING SECURITY AGENDA
Kazakhstan’s ruling elite has clearly been in a self-congratulatory mood since securing the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010. However, as its foreign policy evolves in the meantime, there is no guarantee that Kazakhstan will emerge as an OSCE-inspired Eurasian bastion of democracy. Regional issues... MORE
GODFATHER OF KAZMUNAYGAZ JOINS TOP ECHELONS OF POWER
On December 6 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev appointed Nurlan Balgimbayev to be his advisor. Shortly before the announcement, a new wave of administrative reforms replaced several regional governors and top government officials, including the ministers of finance and energy and mineral resources. Balgimbayev is one... MORE
NAZARBAYEV HINTS AT LARGER STATE SHARE IN KASHAGAN
One of Vladimir Putin’s most notable accomplishments since he assumed the presidency of the Russian Federation on December 31, 1999, has been his relentless effort to downsize the Western presence in the Russian Federation energy sector. Now it seems that Kazakhstan might be pursuing similar... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN TO CHAIR THE OSCE: SPLITTING THE RUSSIA-LED BLOC?
The OSCE’s year-end meeting in Madrid has resolved that Kazakhstan shall hold the organization’s Chairmanship in 2010. In 2008 already, Kazakhstan will host the annual session of the OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly (a body that severely criticized the conduct of Russia’s December 2 parliamentary elections, see... MORE
BAKIYEV SEEKS REMOVAL OF OPPONENTS BEFORE ELECTIONS
As the political campaign for Kyrgyzstan’s December 16 parliamentary elections intensifies, the Kyrgyz opposition is experiencing direct and indirect pressure from the government. Whereas Kyrgyz political parties show greater professionalism in designing and promoting their election campaigns, the government has crafted new techniques to curb... MORE
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD SIGNALS STRONG TURKMEN-IRANIAN RELATIONS
On December 1 Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov announced that construction has begun at the Turkmen-Iranian border city of Bereket on a railroad linking Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan. The 900-kilometer (560 miles) railroad, with around 700 kilometers (435 miles) inside Turkmenistan, will provide greater capacity for... MORE
EUROPEAN ENERGY CONSUMERS LIKELY TO LOSE KAZAKHSTAN BATTLE TO “ORIENTAL BLOC”
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s November 21-23 Balkan tour, which came on the heels of his trip to the United Arab Emirates and Syria (see EDM, November 15), symbolically demonstrated Kazakhstan’s adherence to its trumpeted multi-vector foreign policy. Astana’s efforts to boost energy cooperation with Slovakia,... MORE
RUSSIA SEEKS TO REVIVE ITS ENERGY PROJECTS IN TAJIKISTAN
Russian officials recently reiterated their continued interest in a major energy project in Tajikistan, while authorities in Dushanbe remain hesitant. Meanwhile, a sizable Tajik labor migrant community has become a continued irritant in bilateral relations. Moscow is prepared to complete the Rogun hydroelectric power plant,... MORE
COMPETITION INTENSIFIES AHEAD OF KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
Two weeks before Kyrgyzstan’s December 16 parliamentary elections, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev abruptly sacked Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev. Atambayev represents the moderate opposition in the government and his Social-Democratic party has been rapidly gaining ground in the run up to the elections. Atambayev was also... MORE
RUSSIA HOPES TO ENTER CASPIAN MARKET WITH NEW KASHAGAN DEAL
In the covert “great game” currently playing out between Russia and the United States to control the hydrocarbon assets of the Caspian, a glittering new prize has appeared on the horizon. Kazakhstan’s massive offshore Kashagan oilfield is the world's largest discovery in the last 30... MORE