Kazakhstan’s political turmoil erupted at precisely the moment the U.S. and Russia began to negotiate deep disagreements over Ukraine, NATO and European security. The deployment of 2,500 “peacekeepers” by the Kremlin-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) struck many Washington experts as a shift in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy that strengthens Russia’s hand
People from all over Kazakhstan marched to the presidential palace in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan’s capital, to protest rising interest rates and crippling personal debt. Police blocked the march…Kazakhs protested in Almaty against so-called reeducation camps in China’s Xinjiang province, where relatives are said to be held. The 100th day of demonstrations began on May 18
An ethnic Kazakh from China has been welcomed back to Kazakstan by his family at Almaty airport after 17 years of captivity in China…Sergei Sazanakov was hunting in Russia’s Khakassia region when an accident left him trapped in the snow overnight. He lost his lower legs to frostbite, and later had to fight for his children in court after his wife left him
Kazakh conservationists fear that the construction of a new highway linking central and western Kazakhstan could disrupt the migration of critically endangered saiga antelope and lead to a further reduction in their population
The Bukhtarma Reservoir is the biggest artificial body of water in Kazakhstan. There’s no bridge across it, so in warmer months, local residents must often wait for hours for a ferry crossing. In colder months, many risk their lives crossing the ice by car.
The political turmoil in Kyrgyzstan follows a period of relative calm in the country’s post-Soviet history, which is marked by revolutions in 2010 and 2005
More than 100 activists have been detained by police in Kazakhstan where two opposition parties had planned to hold rallies on June 6 in several cities to demand democratic reforms
Freedom of worship guaranteed under Nazarbayev and perpetuated by his successor finds its raison d’etre in the careful policy of control of religions promoted in Kazakhstan, a country with a large Islamic majority, aimed at repressing the possible birth or operation of violent Islamic radical groups. To this end, the government establishes moments of encounter during the year, between the various religious leaders, thus favoring a rather formal ecumenical and interreligious dialogue
The emergency coronavirus crisis plan approved in mid-March envisions greater availability of affordable financing, tax breaks and a pledge to suspend the often-arbitrary audits that are the bane of every small and medium business in Kazakhstan. Some service-based businesses, like cinemas and restaurants, will be spared having to pay property taxes until the year’s end. For others, depending on how hard the crisis hits, there may be no tax liabilities for up to six months.
Demonstrators rallying on International Women’s Day were assaulted by unidentified masked men in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, on March 8..Dozens joined an International Women’s Day march through the streets of Kosovo’s capital, Pristina, to demand equality and justice for women