Central Asia

Dinara Kutmanova and her son, once at the forefront of the Kumtor nationalization movement, were charged with abuse of office and fraud. They'd been arrested back in 2023.

Without guarantees that observers would be accredited, and an apparent lack of engagement by Dushanbe, the OSCE has chosen to cancel its monitoring mission.

Economic, political, and environmental trends are accelerating Central Asia’s shift to EVs, and Chinese firms are at the forefront.

Given the classified nature of the trial, the details of the alleged plot are unknown.

Activist Tilekmat Kudaibergen uulu is the latest Kyrgyz dissident to face pressure from authorities while abroad. 

Planned originally for 2024, the summit is now scheduled for April 2025 in Samarkand – setting it apart from earlier China- and U.S.-Central Asia leaders summits, which occurred outside the region.

In contrast to India’s well-established bilateral security engagements with Central Asian states, China has been less active beyond the scope of the SCO. 

The Russian prime minister recently complained about "unfounded claims and illegal statements by high-level representatives of Kyrgyz government bodies against honest, bona fide Russian companies..."

Islamic practices in Uzbekistan, after enduring seven decades of Soviet-imposed atheism, are now being increasingly adopted by the younger generation. 

Six police officers were sentenced to three years in prison in relation to the torture of 44 foreign nationals in the dark days of Qandy Qantar 2022.

The hydropower project in Kyrgyzstan has tapped into the region’s thirst for cooperation.

During his nomination hearing last week, now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio endorsed the annulment of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, although its removal is ultimately a Congressional task.