Articles
On October 31, 2023, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a law amending the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Responsibility to criminalize the promotion of polygamy and religious marriage (nikah) without official registration with state authorities.
The war in Ukraine has brought issues of self-identification and national identity in Central Asian states into focus. According to researchers, decolonisation issues had been discussed in the expert community previously, but it has gone beyond academic limits after the outbreak of the war. However, the degree of knowledge of the colonial past and decolonisation processes in the countries of the region is very diverse and it is often the political issue.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022, caused negative economic expectations in Central Asia. But national economies in the region managed to survive due to high prices of natural resources, opening opportunities in trade and change in the rouble rate. However, relative welfare is unstable. (more…)
Two high-profile scandals related to mass poisonings of children with medicines in Uzbekistan over the past year indicate a systemic crisis, high level of corruption in pharmacology and lack of control in the supply of medicines.
Tajik cotton producers claim losses due to falling demand in Russia, following sanctions imposed on that country. (more…)
Lakshmi Mittal, owner of ArcelorMittal Temirtau, has enjoyed the support of ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev. “No one could tell a word to Mittal,” this is how ex-prime minister of Kazakhstan, Serik Akhmetov, described the one considered guilty of the tragedy that unfolded on October 28, 2023 at the Kostenko Mine that claimed 46 lives. These words could be considered as the explanation of why a foreign investor with 180 fatalities at his plants for almost 30 years would stay in Kazakhstan. (more…)
Direct elections of akims (mayors) of districts and cities of regional subordination took place in Kazakhstan on November 5, 2023. This really historical event went smoothly: no scandalous electoral race, no critical statements or revelations. Most of winners are members of the ruling party Amanat. Moreover, 41 of 45 winners have already been akims or deputy akims. Can these elections be called valid? (more…)
‘Not just for your information’ – this is the principle of work of new media in Kazakhstan. They try to establish communication between the society and authority, to make officials revise their attitudes to their duties. And they have succeeded in it. (more…)
Officials believe that speeding and failure to follow traffic rules are the main reasons for the increase in road accidents in Tajikistan. But experts also attribute this to the influence of corruption. Accidents involving officials’ children are of particular concern.