On March 1, non-governmental activists staged two simultaneous demonstrations in Kyzylorda and Shymkent, crisis-ridden cities in south Kazakhstan, to call attention to the environmental threat allegedly posed by projects of PetroKazakhstan Inc., a Canadian oil company that has worked in Kazakhstan for seven years. Around... MORE

In his annual message to the nation, delivered on February 18, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev made yet another well-calculated move to polish his personal image as an ardent supporter of Central Asian integration. "I propose creating a Union of Central Asian states," he announced. Indulging... MORE

Uzbekistan plans to carry out joint military exercises with Russia in 2005 involving Russian paratroopers from the 76th Pskov Airborne Division. Colonel-General Alexander Kolmakov, Commander of the Russian Airborne Troops, confirmed that these plans are part of a series of foreign military exercises scheduled with... MORE

In his annual message to the nation last April, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed concerns about the worsening demographic situation in the country. He challenged government agencies to boost population growth in order to reach a population of 20 million people by the year 2015.... MORE

Recently police in the small town of Kentai, Kazakhstan, discovered a cache of books and leaflets propagating the ideas of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an Islamist radical organization. The extremist literature, hidden in the attic of a private house, was printed in Uzbek, Russian, and Kazakh. While police... MORE

With almost no public notice, Turkmenistan has virtually ceased deliveries of gas to Russia since January 1 due to disagreement over the price (Vremya novosti, February 9). Gazprom did not acknowledge the problem publicly until yesterday (February 10). The company's chairman, Alexei Miller, held talks... MORE

Kyrgyz authorities are tightening security ahead of their February 27 parliamentary elections. Their concerns primarily focus around security fears on the Kyrgyz border and domestic fears about the unknown strength of the opposition. Generic political fears, triggered by the recent wave of peaceful revolutions in... MORE

At a press conference held on February 2, the chairman of the Almaty-based Russian Observer Research Center, Fedor Miroglov, revealed that ethnic Russians living in Kazakhstan are being illegally recruited to serve in the Russian army. He said that in 2003 more than 100 Russians... MORE

Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov, having traditionally maintained neutrality for his country in its international relations, has now made strengthening the armed forces one of Turkmenistan's top priorities. Such efforts to raise the overall standards in the military and enhance Turkmenistan's defense capacity come at a... MORE