Latest Articles about Central Asia
CENTRAL ASIA GAS UPDATE
Gas output data for 2004, just released by the three Central Asian producer countries, illustrate the region's underutilized potential as a supplier to the West, the absence of a Western strategy in this regard, and Russia's unchecked tendency to monopolize the marketing of Central Asian... MORE
ASTANA LAUNCHES AMBITIOUS HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECT
Last month the government of Kazakhstan approved a new strategy for developing the country's hydroelectric energy resources. Kazakhstan plans to build 20 power stations, with a total capacity of 4.8 kilowatts per hour, by the year 2015. Most of the stations will be located in... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN INCHES TOWARDS NATO
Kazakhstan's Deputy Defense Minister, Major-General Bolat Sembinov, concluded a successful series of meetings with senior NATO officials in Brussels on January 21. The meetings signify a clear turning point in Kazakhstan's relations with the Alliance, seeking mechanisms through which the Kazakhstani armed forces may benefit... MORE
RUSSIAN-KAZAKH BORDER AGREEMENT SPARKS NATIONALIST REACTION
The Russia-Kazakhstan border delimitation agreement concluded during President Nursultan Nazarbayev's January 17 visit to Moscow was heralded as an historic accord. It was the first such agreement ever signed between Caspian states and took five years to conclude. Now, for the first time in its... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN INTRODUCES NEW EFFORTS TO SUPPRESS RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM
Police in Almaty have detained supporters of the Islamic organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir who had organized an unauthorized demonstration close to the central city mosque on the morning of January 20. The police media department told the Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency: "Police officers detained almost all demonstration participants,... MORE
KARIMOV TELLS ARMY TO PREPARE FOR PRE-EMPTIVE CAPABILITIES
President Islam Karimov, delivering a key speech on the eve of Army Day in Uzbekistan , declared that the Uzbek army must be prepared to launch pre-emptive strikes against international terrorists and the centers that direct them. Alluding to the attacks within Uzbekistan in 2004,... MORE
KARIMOV VOWS TO HEAD OFF ORANGE REVOLUTION IN UZBEKISTAN
Dismissing the idea of an "orange revolution" in Uzbekistan , President Islam Karimov said in a rare interview printed in the Russian news daily Nezavisimaya gazeta on Friday (January 14) that foreign influence would play no role in Uzbekistan because, "Foreign interference is effective only... MORE
KYRGYZSTAN TEETERS ON VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN
Ukraine 's Orange Revolution has produced a not unexpected reaction throughout Central Asia , a region where elections, more often than not, are orchestrated endorsements of the ruling party and its leader. This reaction is one of profound fear and alarm. Throughout Central Asia leaders... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN SUFFERS FIRST DEATH OF PEACEKEEPER IN IRAQ
Kazakhstan has suffered its first military casualty in Iraq. On January 9 Captain Kayrat Kudabayev died from his injuries after an explosion in Al-Suwaira, north of Wasit province. This incident marks a significant test for Kazakhstan in its ongoing commitment to peace support operations within... MORE
ASTANA PLEDGES STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA
On January 12 Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Almaty for a two-day official visit, his first foreign trip of the new year. Abandoning the usual practice of announcing upcoming visits by state leaders, Kazakhstan's official media refrained from publicizing Putin's visit prior to his... MORE