Magazine Despite two era-defining moments occurring in the five years since Nazarbayev’s resignation, continuity is the main feature of governance in Kazakhstan. In this June 7, 2019, file photo, Kazakhstan’s acting President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, right, and former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev shake hands in front of their supporters in Nur-Sultan, the capital city of Kazakhstan, … Read more
This week, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev shuffled his government. Besides new Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, notable new appointments included Finance Minister Madi Takiyev, and National Economy Minister Nurlan Baybazarov. The fresh faces in the economic bloc come as Tokayev pledges to pursue a new economic course, including promises to reduce the state’s outsized role in … Read more
Olzhas Bektenov is Kazakhstan’s new prime minister, but he will work with a similar ministerial team as his predecessor, according to the appointments that followed. The ruling Amanat party proposed Bektenov after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev fired the government on February 5, ahead of a plenary government session in parliament. Bektenov, 43, has had a long … Read more
Of all the many bits and pieces to parse from Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s recent interview with the state-run Egemen Qazaqstan newspaper, his comment in response to a question regarding a system of “dual power” stands out as an almost Freudian slip. Tokayev said that at some point after the January 2022 unrest he “openly … Read more
Less than a month after pulling a pair of trials against aspirational opposition party leaders behind closed doors, a court in Kazakhstan sentenced one to 10 years. The other faces a similar fate. On November 21, a court in Astana sentenced Nurzhan Altaev, the leader of the unregistered El Tiregi party (which in Kazakh literally … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Kazakhstan on November 9 for an official visit. Putin’s trip marks just his third international foray in 2023, after visits last month to Kyrgyzstan and China, and comes on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron’s trip through Central Asia, including a stop in Astana. The Kazakh … Read more
Advertisement This week, a court in the Kazakh capital Astana decided to move the two trials of two different political figures, in two entirely separate cases, behind closed doors, citing concerns about the safety of witnesses. Given the political activities of both defendants – each the leader of an unregistered political party – the shifting … Read more
Crossroads Asia | Economy | Central Asia After years of safety problems, ArcelorMittal confirms its in talks to transfer ownership to Kazakhstan. But a change of ownership won’t necessarily make mining any safer. Tokayev speaking to families and citizens in Temirtau, Karaganda region. Credit: Akorda.kz Advertisement When a fire broke out at the Kostenco coal mine in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda … Read more
Advertisement On June 15, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations announced that the massive forest fires in the eastern Abay region were under control. A week later, the fires and Kazakhstanis’ frustration with how the government handled the emergency continue to smolder. The question of who should shoulder responsibility – and with what consequences – is … Read more
Advertisement In a June 11 meeting with residents of Kazakhstan’s Abay region, affected in the past week by devastating wildfires that have claimed at least 15 lives and scorched 60,000 hectares, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev heard from one woman who complained about a lack of paved roads in the region, hampering firefighting efforts. “The officials told … Read more