Kazakhstan

After some initial commotion in the political environment, the parliamentary race folded back into a roll-call of loyalists. 

Postponing what was supposed to become a regular forum for the leaders of Central Asia to gather together is not a good idea.

In Beijing’s pursuit of shifting its trade and energy dependencies from sea to land, Nur-Sultan is a necessary partner.

The additional troops won’t be deployed until 2022 and it's not clear where they will be stationed.

Mukhtar Ablyazov is kryptonite in Kazakh politics.

Bilash headed a group advocating for greater attention to the ethnic Kazakhs detained in China’s camps in Xinjiang. It got him in trouble with the Kazakh government.

A bank close to Nazarbayev buys a competitor, while smaller lenders continue to fall. 

A court order has sent Aigul Otepova to a psychiatric clinic. Her supporters say its because of her outspoken criticism of the government.

Offensive, racist, only-for-Americans, funny, and even a diplomatic case. The second Borat movie stirred a wide range of controversies in Kazakhstan and worldwide.  

Kazakh has been written in a Cyrillic script since 1940, but government officials have long pushed for a gradual shift to a Latin alphabet.

Birtanov was minister until late June when he resigned after contracting COVID-19.

A newly introduced weekly program on a Kazakh state TV channel has sparked sharp public criticism and a campaign against its host – Mukhamedzhan Tazabek.