Latest Articles about Central Asia
AIR CRASH LAYS BARE FAILURES OF KAZAKH MILITARY REFORM
Kazakhstan’s military has been plagued by financial mismanagement, corruption and bribery, a lack of professionalism, and poor housing conditions for military officers. The recent Kazakh air force fighter jet crash in Central Kazakhstan -- which killed two military pilots -- is the result of these... MORE
RUSSIA RECLAIMING CENTRAL ASIA AS SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov paid an official visit to Tashkent on March 7, describing Uzbekistan as Russia’s closest partner in Central Asia. This marked the first occasion that a Russian prime minister has visited Tashkent since 1999. Talks centered on President Islam Karimov’s ideas... MORE
RUSSIAN ECONOMIC TIES WITH UZBEKISTAN HIT TURBULENCE
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov traveled to Tashkent on March 7 in a bid to prop up the Russia-Uzbek economic partnership, but the trip also served to highlight unresolved economic issues between the two countries. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov's March 7 visit to Uzbekistan... MORE
KYRGYZSTAN PREPARES TO HOLD SCO SUMMIT THIS SUMMER
This summer Kyrgyzstan plans to host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) annual summit and assume its presidency. SCO members include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; while India, Iran, Mongolia, and Pakistan hold observer status. While this is a unique chance for Kyrgyzstan to... MORE
DISCUSSIONS INTENSIFY WITH KAZAKHSTAN ON TRANS-CASPIAN GAS PIPELINE
On a visit to Astana on February 27-28, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov took the initiative to discuss possible exports of gas from Kazakhstan through the proposed gas pipeline on the Caspian seabed (Kazakhstan Today, Turan, February 28). In his talks with Kazakh... MORE
KULOV DETERMINED TO UNDERMINE BAKIYEV’S GOVERNMENT
As the second anniversary of Kyrgyzstan’s March 24, 2005, Tulip Revolution approaches, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is facing a growing challenge from the “United Front,” a newly emerged opposition bloc that seeks his resignation. The bloc is led by former prime minister Felix Kulov, whose... MORE
ASTANA OPTS FOR “GOVERNABLE” DEMOCRACY
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has invited Turkmenistan’s newly elected President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov to visit Kazakhstan. While the new Turkmen leader undoubtedly could learn a great deal from Astana in terms of political reforms, the Kazakh model is not without its flaws. Over the last two... MORE
AKHMETOV TIES MILITARY REFORM TO PARTNERSHIP WITH RUSSIA
Kazakhstan plans to cooperate more closely with Russia’s defense industries in order to modernize its own armed forces by 2015. The timing of this announcement enabled Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Defense to counter negative publicity surrounding the crash of a MiG-31 on February 16, which resulted... MORE
WITH KULOV GONE, BAKIYEV DUMPS HIPC INITIATIVE
On February 20 the Kyrgyz government unanimously rejected participation in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, founded by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in 1996. This decision followed almost a year of negotiations between the Kyrgyz government and the international community.... MORE
UZBEK GAS OUTPUT, EXPORT SET TO GROW UNDER RUSSIAN MONOPOLY CONTROL
On February 19, Gazprom’s subsidiary office in Tashkent announced that Uzbekistan will deliver 13 billion cubic meters of gas to Russia in 2007, up from 9 billion cubic meters in 2006. Russia is the sole export destination for Uzbek gas. Under the contract for 2007,... MORE