Latest Articles about Central Asia
Russia’s New Passport Regulations Impose Additional Hardships on Tajik Migrant Workers
According to a new Russian law, beginning on January 1, 2015, citizens of Tajikistan wishing to enter Russia will no longer be able to use their domestic passports, but will instead need to produce an international passport, a diplomatic passport or a seafarer’s identity document.... MORE
Kazakhstan Announces New Economic Policy to Avoid Another Crisis
On November 11, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev made a pre-announced televised address to the nation. Since 1997, the president annually addresses the two chambers of parliament at the beginning of the calendar year, thus allowing him to outline his administration’s forthcoming plans and programs and... MORE
‘Our People in an Alien War’: Kazakhstanis Fighting for the Islamic State
In late September 2014, Erlan Karin, the newly appointed director of the Astana-based Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies, presented a report on Central Asians fighting for the Islamic State (IS—formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS) called “Our People in... MORE
As Tajikistan Reports Foiling a Terrorist Plot, the Severity of Threat It Faces Appears Exaggerated
On October 18, police in Tajikistan announced that they had arrested 13 members of a terrorist group who had allegedly plotted to attack a military unit, seize weapons, and blow up two major tunnels linking the country’s north with the rest of the republic. According... MORE
Mongolia’s Prime Minister Ousted for Failure to Resolve Economic Woes, Corrupt Practices
Mongolian politics were shaken on November 5, when the parliament voted to dismiss Prime Minister Norov Altankhuyag for not addressing the country’s drastically slowing economic growth, plunging foreign investment, and alleged corruption and cronyism. Altankhuyag’s administration, self-labeled the “New Government for Changes,” collapsed after serving... MORE
How Moscow Is Playing the Russian Autonomy Card in Kazakhstan
In the world of labor union–business relations, it is commonly understood that, oftentimes, the threat of a strike, as long as it is credible, can achieve more than an actual strike itself. On the one hand, the business against which a strike may be launched... MORE
Fears of a Tajik Maidan—A Net Assessment of the Ukraine Crisis’ Impact on the Domestic Situation in Tajikistan Since the Start of 2014
The Euromaidan protests that took place during winter 2013–2014, in Ukraine, have cast their shadow over Tajikistan. The short-term effect of the protests (particularly the Russian response), along with the increasingly violent and intractable nature of the civil war in Syria, makes comparable protests unlikely... MORE
Defending Uzbekistan’s Sovereignty in Face of the Ukraine Crisis—A Net Assessment of Developments in Uzbekistan Since the Start of 2014
The involvement of Russia in the current turbulent situation in southeastern Ukraine most likely did not surprise Uzbekistan’s government, as it saw the parallels with the wars in Georgia in 2008 and in Transnistria in 1990. For President Islam Karimov, the situation in Ukraine most... MORE
Macroeconomic Problems Overshadow Foreign Policy Agenda—A Net Assessment of the Situation in Kazakhstan Since the Start of 2014
The past nine and a half months of 2014 have been dominated in Kazakhstan by the worsening macroeconomic situation, which has prompted the government to move forward with some unpopular measures while embarking on a set of far-reaching reforms. In February, the National Bank of... MORE
Uzbekistan Seeks to Reinvigorate Its Diplomatic Clout in the Region (Part One)
Tashkent’s recent diplomatic efforts to serve and actively pursue its vital national interests may best be described by the mantra “a strategy is always square, but tactics are always round.” The attendance of the president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, at the most recent summit of... MORE