President Nazarbayev doesn’t want to waste time after having been sworn in for a third presidential term recently. He is dealing blows in a couple of directions. First, his cabinet’s performance is not really satisfactory:
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Monday criticized his Cabinet for poor strategic planning, overspending and other mistakes.
Also, the Kazakh diplomatic […]
Kazakhstan’s Central Bank is hunting for dozens of radioactive dollars. Pardon?
The Kazakh central bank said in a letter to financial institutions the radiation level of the U.S. dollar notes was 100 times above normal. A Kazakh citizen brought them into the country in November, it said.
Mind you, but that become quite common if Kazakhstan […]
Kazakhstan’s domestic economy might not lack hydrocarbon resources, but it seems as with all the investment abound, an acute shortage of skills becomes ever more evident.
The landmarks of tertiary education in Kazakhstan, modern and Western-style institutions (like for instance KIMEP), focus heavily on social sciences and management, but what is needed most now are […]
Although an incorrect version of the old “My Kazkakhstan” anthem was posted earlier (now corrected), here is a link to the new Kazakh national anthem, penned in part by Nazarbayev himself.
Thanks to Dr. Werner Linden, the Mad Musicologist.
How Central Asian camels met East African refugees in rural Norway…
A small community in wintry Norway wants to help a group of East African refugees back to work by importing a flock of camels.
The local refugee council says it will allow refugees with nomadic background to use their camel-farming skills while also […]
Karakum raised an important point in his comment to my earlier post:
…as of they [Kazakhstan] have anything to export… KZ are only able to cover their internal demand through in kind payments for the transit of Turkmen gas to Russia and Ukraine.
It’s true, Kazakhstan has been a net gas importer until recently:
Although Kazakhstan is […]
News just come in that it might get very cold in Georgia and Armenia soon: Explosions on the main Russian-Georgian gas pipeline halted supplies and it might take several days until normal operations resume. These news come at a time of tense gas diplomacy throughout the region.
The Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute has fuelled fears in […]
Recently freed opposition leader Galymzhan Zhakiyanov will probably not become the thorn in Nazarbayev’s side that many had hoped.
Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, leader of the Kazakh democratic opposition set free after four years behind the bars last Sunday, does not intend to return to active politics right away. As far as Zhakiyanov is concerned, both the […]
At the same time President Nazarbayev claims a place within the top-50 leading nations of the world table in ten years time (RIA Novosti), well-known Kazakh economist Bulat Khussainov has written a new book about Kazakhstan in an ever more globalised world economy, reports Kazinform. One of his policy recommendations:
In particular, he recommends elevating […]
Kazakh opposition leader Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov was released from prison 14 January after serving a little under half of his seven year sentence. His release is expected to give a boost to the opposition, and he pledged to continue advocating reform after his release.
It seems that mixed signals are coming from Kazakhstan; several days […]
