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
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 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
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
Kazakh security forces detained dozens of people on March 1 in the wake of an activist’s death in custody. Some were detained while speaking to journalists. Others ended up in police vans after standing in public places without actually protesting. Kazakhstan’s opposition called for protests after activist Dulat Aghadil died within hours of his detention on February 24
The funeral has taken place of Kazakh civil rights activist Dulat Aghadil, who recently died in police custody. Some 1,000 people gathered in driving snow for the ceremony in Aghadil’s native village of Talapker. Later, police in Nur-Sultan detained around 20 activists who had gone from the funeral to a demonstration in the capital to demand an independent investigation into Aghadil’s death
It all began with a knock on the door in the night. By the time police in Kazakhstan’s capital, Nur-Sultan, had announced the death of seasoned protester Dulat Agadil on February 25, footage of his detention had already been widely shared on social media. Videos posted on Facebook showed how Agadil, a 43-year-old father of six, was …
Continue reading “Kazakhstan: Activist Dies in Detention, Piling Pressure on the Authorities”
Thanks to Alnur Ilyashev’s efforts, citizens and movements opposed to how the government is being run will – on June 30 – be able to state their case in an Almaty public square without running the risk of arrest