Politics

A man rides a horse past an election campaign board in Almaty, Kazakhstan on March 15.
Politics

Kazakhstan election offers rare opening for independent voices

Post-unrest reforms add meaning to Sunday's vote despite democratic shortcomings

18 March 2023
Police officers are seen outside a Marion Biotech office in Noida, India, on Dec. 29. Uzbekistan says 18 children died after consuming the company's cough syrup.
Pharmaceuticals

India probes cough syrup linked to Uzbekistan child deaths

Allegations echo Gambia scandal, casting new doubts on 'pharmacy of the world'

29 December 2022
Vladimir Putin met with other presidents at the Central Asia-Russia summit in Astana on Oct. 14: Central Asia will continue to find Moscow a complicated partner.
Opinion

2023 outlook: Central Asia is not out of the woods yet

Spillover effects from Ukraine and Afghanistan, so far limited, still pose risk

29 December 2022
Leaders gather in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Nov. 11 for the 9th Heads of States Summit of Organization of Turkic States.
International relations

Turkic world sees 'risks and opportunities' as Russia stumbles

Turkey, EU, China seek to make inroads into Central Asia and the Caucasus

30 November 2022
Kazakhstani election officials count ballots in Almaty on Nov. 20. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won the snap vote by a landslide.
Politics

Kazakhstan seen tilting to China after president's landslide win

Tokayev shifts country away from predecessor Nazarbayev and Moscow

22 November 2022
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev casts his ballot at a polling station in Astana on Nov. 20: The substance of the reforms is designed to dismantle the previous super-presidential system. (Handout photo from President Press Office)
Opinion

Kazakhstan is committed to political reform

Protests have spurred government to remove privileges and increase inclusion

21 November 2022
Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is seeking a new mandate as he strives to distance himself from his one-time mentor, former President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Politics

'New Kazakhstan' set for election expected to be one-man show

Tokayev seeks stamp of legitimacy as experts warn 'protest mood' persists

19 November 2022
The symbiotic relationships between Central Asia's leaders and Vladimir Putin are rearranging themselves as the war in Ukraine weakens Russia.
Asia Insight

Central Asia looks beyond Russia's orbit to secure its future

Jittery over Ukraine war, Kazakhstan and neighbors seek alternative export routes

15 November 2022
Russian citizens converge on a public service center in Almaty to receive individual identification numbers on Sept. 28. 
Ukraine war

Russians fleeing draft strain Kazakhstan's services, diplomacy

President Tokayev calls for 'humanity, patience' ahead of awkward Putin visit

6 October 2022
Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit participants in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Sept. 16: The group has very little impact on its members, let alone the world.
Opinion

SCO shows the limits of Chinese-style international organizations

Group silent even as members engage in deadly clashes during summit

28 September 2022
A report by Freedom House says the Chinese Communist Party "and its proxies are using more sophisticated and coercive tactics to shape media narratives and suppress critical reporting" -- accusations Beijing rejects.
Asia Insight

China builds global media muscle to amplify its message

Study shows how country with dismal press freedom record sways reporting abroad

20 September 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Sept. 15.
International relations

Putin concedes China has 'concerns' on Ukraine in Xi meeting

Beijing's account skips conflict, stresses support for 'respective core interests'

15 September 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping is welcomed by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev upon his arrival in Nur-Sultan on Sept. 14.
International relations

Xi vows to back Kazakh 'sovereignty' in Central Asia power play

Chinese leader's first post-COVID trip abroad seen as move to cement top-dog status

14 September 2022
The meeting in Samarkand, a city on the ancient Silk Road, will mark the annual summit's first in-person meeting since 2019.
International relations

SCO summit to bring together Xi, Putin, Modi: 4 things to know

Shanghai Cooperation Organization looks to bolster global status

13 September 2022
Xi Jinping is set to attend as he makes his first international trip since the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
Opinion

China and Russia to showcase alternative world order at SCO Summit

Samarkand gathering demonstrates sanctioned states still have allies of substance

12 September 2022
Companies looking to transport goods between Europe and China face the political, ethical and commercial dilemma of using the Russian route, or sending them on a slower, more expensive trek across Central Asia.
Business Spotlight

Russia's war leaves Europe with China rail route dilemma

Exporters forced to choose between sanctions risks and lengthy delays

19 August 2022
The Taliban's foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in January: He attended a conference in Tashket this week, where he offered assurances about terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil.
International relations

ISIS-K threat to Uzbek railway dream opens doors for Taliban

Isolated Afghan rulers offer Central Asia assurances at conference

27 July 2022
A Kyrgyz policeman looks at a burnt armored personnel carrier outside the village of Kok-Tash near the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border in southwestern Kyrgyzstan in May 2021: Exchanges of fire continue to take place with casualties on both sides.
Opinion

The perils of ignoring Eurasian instability

Volatile region has historically caused problems for the rest of the world

9 July 2022
An Uzbek law enforcement officer guards a street in Nukus, the capital of the northwestern Karakalpakstan region, on July 3. Officials say 14 protesters and four officers were killed during recent unrest.
Politics

Unrest overshadows dream of IT-powered 'new Uzbekistan'

Net blackout, bans on Twitter, TikTok at odds with courtship of tech investors

7 July 2022
Afghan men search for survivors June 23 in the debris of a Paktika Province house destroyed by an earthquake.
Natural disasters

Afghanistan earthquake leaves homeless waiting for uncertain relief

Taliban say they are working around the clock but need more international aid

24 June 2022
Women in front of the Akorda, the official residence of Kazakhstan's president in Nur-Sultan: The government says the proposed constitutional reforms will water down presidential powers.
Politics

Kazakhstan set to vote on constitution reform in Putin-like process

Critics say proposed changes to 'super presidential' system are superficial

4 June 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on May 20: His invasion of Ukraine has complicated life for Russia's Central Asian partners.
International relations

Putin to seek support at Eurasian summit amid sanctions squeeze

Kazakhstan, others step gingerly as Ukraine poses existential questions for bloc

25 May 2022
Demonstrators take part in an anti-war rally in support of Ukraine in Almaty on Mar. 6: Kazakhstan has allowed large protests against the war.
Opinion

Western powers should exploit Central Asia's unease over Ukraine war

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have both distanced themselves from Moscow

6 April 2022
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivers a speech during a festival in Almaty on March 21.
Politics

Kazakhstan reforms meet skepticism in shadow of Russia's war

Amid 'cosmetic' changes, critics say Tokayev missing chance to break Kremlin's grip

30 March 2022
As the conflict in Ukraine rages, war insurance can give shippers some peace of mind as their freight travels via the China-Europe Railway Express.
Supply Chain

China opens wallet to keep trans-Eurasian express moving

Operators cover 'war insurance' and slash rates

28 March 2022