Blog
Crossroads Asia
China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway: Opportunities and Challenges for China
By Yunis Sharifli
While the hope is for the CKU route to begin construction in 2023, there remain significant challenges to realizing the railway.
Ethnic Kazakh From Xinjiang Detained in Europe, Again
By Catherine Putz
Three years after fleeing China, an ethnic Kazakh man continues to struggle to find a safe place to land.
Russia’s War Puts Central Asia’s Economies in a Difficult Position
By Catherine Putz
The states of Central Asia were, unsurprisingly, on a recent list of possible “transshipment points” Russia and Belarus may use to evade sanctions.
Kazakhstan Oil Exporters Relieved as Russian Court Lifts Ban on Pipeline
By Paolo Sorbello
Most of Kazakhstan’s oil exports go through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which has been targeted by Russian courts.
Serdar Berdimuhamedov’s First Big Cabinet Shuffle
By Catherine Putz
Like father, like son: Serdar Berdimuhamedov made his first significant cabinet shuffle. The process remains as opaque as ever.
Will Rybakina’s Wimbledon Win Really ‘Put Kazakhstan on the Map of World Tennis’?
By Catherine Putz
Born in Moscow, Rybakina switched citizenship and federations to Kazakhstan in 2018.
Child Rape Case Sparks Protests in Kyrgyzstan
By Catherine Putz
Although the protests were small in scale, activists continue to make strident pleas for President Japarov to address the plight of women and girls in Kyrgyzstan.
Tokayev Looks to Caspian to Diversify Oil Export Routes
By Catherine Putz
Kazakhstan is again looking to the potential of a Trans-Caspian pipeline, but do plans to diversify oil export routes just hitch the Kazakh economy further to a doomed fossil fuel industry?
Pipeline Critical to Kazakh Oil Exports Ordered to Halt Operations by Russian Court
By Catherine Putz
The timing of the decision has naturally raised some eyebrows, but of greater consequence is the lack of diversification of export routes for Kazakh oil.
Russian Foreign Minister Visits Mongolia in Drive for Support
By Associated Press
Ukraine and Russia's rejection of Western criticism were major themes of Lavrov's public comments.
Unrest in Central Asia: The Trouble in Karakalpakstan
By Catherine Putz
Although protests this year in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan took place in different contexts, with different triggers, there are some similarities worth highlighting.
Karakalpak Protests Reflect the Shattered Promise of Mirziyoyev’s ‘New Uzbekistan’
By Ildar Daminov
A proposal to downgrade the autonomous region to a province set off massive protests.