Introduction Mongolia responded quickly to the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in China this past January. The country issued its first public health warning about the new virus and asked citizens to wear masks on January 10; shut down schools throughout the country by January 24;... MORE

Moscow is increasingly worried about something it has not yet figured out how best to counter: Beijing’s use of soft power to promote the “sinicization” of cultures in the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus. This process, if successful, could lead those states... MORE

Introduction On August 3, Tajikistan’s Minister of Internal Affairs Rahimzoda Ramazon announced that Gulmurod Khalimov was killed in an airstrike in Syria. This was later confirmed by Tajikistani nationals returning from Syria (Sputniknews.ru, August 3). Later, however, Rakhimzoda stated that he would not believe the... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. Since his election by Kyrgyzstan’s parliament to the post of caretaker prime minister on October 10 and subsequent accession to the presidency on October 15, Sadyr Zhaparov has managed to fulfill his most important initial priorities—to ensure a... MORE

The October 4 parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan set off a new protracted cycle of political instability in Central Asia’s second-poorest republic. Though the impact of the ongoing crisis has so far been limited to domestic issues, it may eventually reverberate in various ways through the... MORE

Editor’s Note: This is the third installment of a three-part China Brief series about the Chinese government’s efforts to exert greater influence over regional security arrangements and policy in the states of Central Asia. The first part, “The Security Component of the BRI in Central... MORE

On July 29, the Russian government issued an order concerning plans for the development of federal transport, railway, information and communications infrastructure that includes the construction of Port Lagan, in the Republic of Kalmykia (Portnews.ru, August 3). The idea to establish a port in Kalmykia... MORE

In early September, Russia hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) annual meetings of defense ministers (September 3–4), ministers of foreign affairs (September 9–10) and security council heads (September 15) (Sectsco.org, September 5, 10, 16). The regional grouping includes China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan... MORE

Since early September, media in Caspian littoral countries have been filled with stories about the expansion of Chinese rail operations there, a development that represents a double challenge to Moscow (Kaspiyskiy Vestnik, September 17). First, this expanded Chinese presence undermines Russia’s influence over these countries... MORE

Despite some disruptions to this year’s military training schedule caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (see EDM, April 21, 22), the Russian Armed Forces are preparing to hold their annual capstone strategic-operational exercise on September 15–26. “Kavkaz 2020” (“Caucasus 2020”) will feature large-scale drills spread across... MORE