Advertisement In the first quarter of 2023, 350,000 Tajik citizens migrated to Russia — 100,000 more than in the same period in 2022. More than 630,000 Uzbek citizens did the same, a 72 percent increase on the 366,000 that made the journey in 2022. Nearly 173,000 Kyrgyz citizens made the journey too, among others. When … Read more
Advertisement On April 7, Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s federal agricultural oversight body, announced they had found pig DNA in a batch of sausage imported by Toyboss, a Kyrgyz manufacturing company. From Russia’s perspective, the infraction was a problem because the pig products had not been declared in customs. But the accusation had larger significance in Kyrgyzstan. Toyboss’s … Read more
Advertisement The lure of work in Ukraine’s war-torn territory has proven difficult to resist for Central Asian labor migrants, and Russian companies have taken notice. Despite the inherent dangers of working in an active conflict zone, opportunities in Ukraine have proven both reliable and lucrative. Embattled ethnic minorities like Tajikistan’s Pamiris are especially vulnerable due … Read more
Advertisement “Karakalpakstan is not Uzbekistan,” Aman Sagidullayev, the leader of the Alga Karakalpakstan movement stressed to The Diplomat. Sagidullayev fled his homeland in 2012 for Kyrgyzstan and eventually even farther abroad. His movement’s demand for a referendum on independence in Karakalpakstan was viewed by Tashkent as nothing short of rank separatism. “We Karakalpaks, apart from … Read more
Asia Geopolitics | Risk Intelligence | Security | Central Asia What’s driving China’s outreach to Central Asia in 2023? Credit: FacebookAdvertisement The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the first-ever China-Central Asia in-person summit meeting. Click the play button to the right to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also … Read more
Advertisement Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the leaders of Central Asia — Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdymuhamedov, and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev — gathered for the first time in person (although it is the third China-Central Asia summit since the format was kicked off … Read more
Advertisement In celebration of the recent successful constitutional referendum, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyouev called for snap presidential elections. While the ballot will feature four names, Mirziyoyev is expected to win in a landslide. If that last sentence looks familiar, that’s because I wrote nearly the same thing just two years ago in 2021 when Uzbekistan … Read more
Advertisement Quick on the heels of Uzbekistan’s constitutional referendum, President Shavkat Mirzoyoyev announced on May 8 that the country would hold an early presidential election on July 9. Mirziyoyev, in his May 8 speech, waxed poetic about the April 30 referendum, proclaiming that its results illustrated that the Uzbek people have “high confidence and full … Read more
Crossroads Asia | Diplomacy | Central Asia Although they don’t share a border, budding autocratic dynasties Turkmenistan and Tajikistan are close political neighbors. Advertisement Turkmen President Serdar Berdymuhamedov made a state visit to Tajikistan on May 10, meeting with President Emomali Rahmon and other Tajik officials. The visit came a day after the two presidents visited Moscow to attend … Read more
Advertisement Kazakhstan is betting heavily on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), or Middle Corridor, as an alternative to reach European and international markets and bypass Russia. Many factors need to be considered to understand whether the corridor will boom in the short or long term; one vital topic is the future of Kazakhstani ports. … Read more